Jul 8, 2025

The previous peak was in March of this year, when 26 rounds were reported, according to Fierce Biotech's Layoff Tracker In comparison, May of 2024 saw 20 layoff rounds, while 12 RIFs were reported in the same month of 2023 and five were recorded in May 2022. Despite May's high figure, the overall number of layoff rounds reported in the second quarter of this year was exactly the same as 2025's Q1, with 64 rounds recorded in both quarters. That means the first half of 2025 ushered in at least 128 layoff rounds. In 2024, the full-year total was 192 rounds. At the halfway mark last year, 97 layoff rounds were reported, marking a 32% year-over-year increase for the first half of 2025. When diving into specifics for the most recent quarter, a few themes stand out. While the first quarter was marred by eight biotech closures, that figure dropped to four during the second quarter. Those winding down recently include antibody-drug conjugate biotech Vincerx Pharma , oral KIT inhibitor developer Third Harmonic Bio , autoimmune disease biotech Octagon Therapeutics and TIGIT company iTeos Therapeutics While Vor Bio once looked like it might face the same fate, the company recently resurrected itself after nearing extinction. In May, the biotech laid off 95% of staffers and stopped all clinical development. Less than two months later, Vor managed to secure a $4 billion biobucks deal with China's RemeGen. The licensing deal centers around telitacicept—a recombinant dual-target fusion protein designed to treat autoimmune conditions—and includes $45 million upfront for Vor. The Boston biotech has also shed its former leadership team and unveiled a $175 million private placement backed by the biotech's existing investor RA Capital Management, among others. While Vor was able to turn things around, other companies face mounting pressure, implementing multiple layoff rounds during 2025 in hopes of staying afloat. One of those biotechs is Atara Biotherapeutics, an allogeneic T-cell immunotherapy company that halved its workforce in March after being hit with holds on two FDA applications . Even after the FDA lifted the holds, Atara told its remaining employees in May that 30% of them would be following their former colleagues out the door, leaving only 23 employees remaining at the biopharma. Then there's Leap Therapeutics, a Massachusetts biotech that implemented a 50% workforce reduction in May while narrowing the focus of its lead cancer drug. Just six weeks later, the company expanded those plans to encompass 75% of its employees , while also ending its only clinical trial. On the Big Pharma side, Bristol Myers Squibb's major cost-cutting initiative has included four layoff rounds eliminating at least 863 roles for the first half of 2025. Several biopharmas have cited the difficult market environment as reason to cut down, with a few companies pointing to government funding cuts that have impacted academic institutions. For instance, Eikon Therapeutics laid off 15% of staff at the end of May due to “external forces,” according to a LinkedIn post from the company. “For example, government funding cuts have constrained the budgets of academic institutions, necessitating that we pause development of our advanced instruments intended for external researchers,” Eikon's post read. “The market for these instruments has clearly evaporated.” Gene sequencing company 10x Genomics also shed 8% of its global workforce as instrument sales plummeted. On the company's May 8 earnings call, CEO Serge Saxonov, Ph.D., attributed the decline to "increasingly unpredictable customer purchasing behavior," with 40% to 50% of the company's revenue normally supported by U.S. academic and government research funding. The overarching macroeconomic uncertainty is dragging out biotech's already years-long bear market. While layoff trends are only one measure of the sector's health, the data for the first six months indicate the industry could continue to face tumult during the remainder of the year.