Gilead jobs cut, moved out of state
Biotech giant Gilead is cutting 178 California jobs and shifting some to North Carolina in the latest example of a major Bay Area company moving workers to a cheaper location.
The company is eliminating 168 jobs at 333 Lakeside Drive in Foster City, 9 in Santa Monica and 1 in La Verne (Los Angeles County) in the accounting, internet technology and human resources divisions, according to a state employment filing.
Gilead is moving up to 89 of the jobs, depending on how many employees accept a relocation package, to North Carolina’s Research Triangle, near Raleigh, by the end of September.
The move is part of the company’s $5 million investment in the area, where it plans to create 275 jobs, according to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s office.
“We are eager to welcome many of the highly talented, highly skilled people who live in the Research Triangle region to work with us as we seek to advance new medicines for people with unmet medical needs,” said Andrew Dickinson, Gilead’s chief financial officer, in a statement earlier this month.
Gilead is receiving a North Carolina grant that could reimburse it for nearly $10 million over 12 years if it meets job creation goals, according to the governor’s office.
Chris Ridley, a Gilead spokesman, said the company would remain headquartered in Foster City and “we remain deeply committed to continuing to grow our business” there. The company has more than 13,000 employees, with more than half in California.
North Carolina saw the ninthhighest migration growth among U.S. states last year, according to a UHaul report.
Biotech has been one of the Bay Area’s strongest industries during the pandemic, and Gilead won approval for the first COVID19 treatment, remdesivir.