Pfizer to cut R&D jobs in Boulder

BOULDER — Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is laying off an unspecified number of workers in its Boulder research and development operation.

The pharmaceutical giant tipped its hand with a letter to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment this week indicating that it “will conduct employee separations at the Pfizer research facility located at 3200 Walnut St.” The letter, sent to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act coordinator, said the layoffs would be “permanent,” but as of Thursday afternoon, Pfizer had not told the state nor BizWest how many workers would be impacted. 

None of the impacted workers are represented by a union, according to Pfizer’s letter.

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“Pfizer continues to hone its R&D footprint and focus on areas where its capabilities are differentiated, aiming to reduce cycle times further through optimization of its end-to-end R&D operations,” the company said in an email to BizWest. “As part of this effort, we have made the very difficult decision to reduce the footprint of our Boulder organization and to transition some research programs to other facilities. Our efforts to implement these strategic changes will result in colleague impact at our Boulder, Colorado, site.”

Pfizer representatives did not respond to questions about the specifics of that “colleague impact.”

The drug company “is now at an inflection point to act from a position of strength with industry-leading R&D productivity, a robust pipeline of innovative assets, and up to 19 launches expected over a period of 18 months — the most ever for the company,” Pfizer’s emailed statement said. “We believe these actions will position us to lead the industry in reaching more patients with the most impactful breakthroughs as quickly as possible.”

Pfizer entered the Boulder market in 2019 with the $11 billion acquisition of Boulder-based oncology company Array BioPharma Inc.

When the acquisition was announced, a Pfizer spokeswoman told BizWest that the company had no intention of reducing headcount at the former Array office or moving employees to other research sites across the country.

Atlanta-based investment firm Invesco Ltd. bought the four-building, 151,384-square-foot office and lab campus on Walnut from Pfizer’s landlord Tritower Financial Group LLC in 2021 for $99 million. When the property changed hands, Pfizer said it also extended its lease on Walnut Street but did not specify the terms or length.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.