Pfizer’s closure of a Seagen plant in Everett will cost 119 workers their jobs in June, according to a notice released Wednesday by the state Employment Security Department.
The long-anticipated Seagen pharmaceutical manufacturing plant was nearing completion until Pfizer, the pharma giant that recently acquired Bothell-based Seagen, announced in March it would halt construction.
The 119 impacted employees were working on the setup of the site, according to Pfizer, which paid $43 billion to acquire Seagen in December. The oncology medicines Seagen intended to produce at the new plant will be manufactured in Pfizer’s North Carolina plant, “which will have increased capacity with ongoing expansion of the facility,” the biotech giant said in a statement.
“The expanded (North Carolina) site will have the technological capability and available capacity for the manufacturing of these essential products,” New York-based Pfizer said in a statement in March.
Laid-off employees can be placed at Seagen’s Bothell site or apply to roles within Pfizer, the company said.
Seagen, formerly known as Seattle Genetics, first announced the new 270,000-square-foot facility in April 2022. According to regulatory filings that year, the company expected to spend $350 million to $400 million building the facility.
At the time of the announcement, Seagen said it expected to employ up to 200 highly skilled workers to produce cancer medicine for clinical trials and for the commercial market.
Seagen specializes in cancer treatments. The acquisition enhances Pfizer’s presence in the oncology market and contribute to its financial goals, Albert Bourla, Pfizer CEO, said in a statement in December.
Pfizer said it is considering selling the property.