Last night we got a tip that Roche had begun axing its own employees from their New Jersey offices…

Heard from a friend-of-a-friend that last week Roche had the Nutley PD on campus for a round of layoffs (all part of the Genentech post-merger re-org). Said about one hundred people got a box, 10 minutes and an escort to their car.

Ouch!!! PD=police department?? Yikes. Scary, and sucks too. We do know, however, that Roche has officially swung the Genentech axe in San Francisco as confirmed by the San Francisco Chronicle. According to Genentech spokeswoman Caroline Pecquet:

“Roche has always communicated that it expected some redundancies in certain areas of the business…the reductions that have occurred so far have affected less than 1 percent (of Genentech’s 8,250 Bay Area employees)…departing Genentech employees will be kept on the payroll for 60 more days and given help to look for a new job. They will also get a cash severance package and paid health coverage in amounts and durations that vary with length of service.”

Genentech did not say how many employees would ultimately be affected or how long the axes would take. Also, the layoffs are occurring through a combination of voluntary buyouts and layoffs through Genentech’s late stage drug development and corporate administration divisions.

The good news is that “little to no” pink slips will be handed out in manufacturing and all six of Genentech’s manufacturing and distribution sites will stay alive. For now????

Anonymous Tip? Comments? Contact us: hr AT iguanabio DOT com

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