Two Bay Area companies to lay off more than 700 workers combined by the end of next month
Bay Area, California – Two big companies, Target, a national retail behemoth, and Cepheid, a biotech company, have announced major job cuts, upsetting the Bay Area employment landscape. These layoffs, detailed in recent filings with the state Employment Development Department, indicate that over 700 local workers will be impacted.
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Renowned for its expertise in medical devices and biotech, Cepheid has stated it will be cutting 635 positions at its Sunnyvale and Fremont sites. Of these cuts—624 positions— Sunnyvale will see most of them; Fremont will lose 11 roles. September 27 will see these layoffs carried out. C.J. Schrotenboer, Vice President of Human Resources at Cepheid, said the business will offer free on-site outplacement services enabled by a third-party vendor in an effort to ease the transition for impacted employees.
Adding to the job unrest, Target has said that 83 employees at its East Palo Alto store, at 1775 East Bayshore Road, will be leaving. These planned September 28 layoffs are related to the store’s permanent closing. Target closed several Bay Area outlets in the past, usually citing crime and theft as main concerns, but in their WARN letter they did not indicate the main cause for the closing of the East Palo Alto shop.
The combined layoffs from Target and Cepheid highlight a more general trend of Bay Area job market volatility. Hundreds of employees at these businesses are left wondering about their futures as they cut staff. Both companies have said that the employment losses are permanent, which marks a notable drop in their Bay Area footprint and might point to more general economic changes in the area.
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This tsunami of layoffs arrives at a difficult period for the Bay Area economy already handling local problems further worsened by worldwide economic pressures. The effects of these cuts will probably be felt in the local economy and community as impacted workers negotiate their future moves, therefore underscoring the vulnerability of the area to business volatility and corporate restructuring.
