Thermo Fisher cutting jobs at NY cell culture media plant

The Grand Island facility, fresh from a $76 million expansion, will see a “limited” reduction in staff as Thermo Fisher adjusts to “stay current with the market.”

Whether in liquid or powder form, Cell culture media is an integral part of producing biologics and vaccines, and an essential factor in cell viability, performance, and yield.

As a supplier of such media, Thermo Fisher has undergone a $76 million expansion at its Grand Island, New York cell culture media facility, which – according to senior management –  is largely complete.

Thermo Fisher’s facility in Grand Island, NY – Image c/o Google

The expansion – part of a long-term $650 million capital expenditure boost announced in March 2021 – adds over 45,000 square-foot of Animal Origin Free (AOF) production space to support worldwide demand of media and was expected to add around 100 members of staff to the overall 1,600 strong workforce.

However, this may not still be the case as Thermo Fisher has said it is now looking to cut jobs at the site.

“As part of our regular business practices to stay current with the market and meet our commitments to our customers, we have made the difficult decision to eliminate a limited number of positions at our Grand Island facility,” a Thermo Fisher spokesperson told BioProcess Insider.

“Business decisions that directly impact colleagues are never taken lightly and we will do everything possible to support our colleagues who are affected by these decisions. Our Grand Island site remains a critical hub for our business.”

Details concerning numbers were not offered. However, no Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) has been made, which could indicate the total number of layoffs will be fewer than 25.

The pandemic has led to a robust couple of years for the bioprocess sector but as demand for COVID-related products dwindle, fellow vendors Danaher and Sartorius have spoken about a “swift normalization of demand.”