The US job cuts, the second set the firm has made in the last 12 months, will affect around 80 positions, some of which are currently vacant, and are expected to generate cost savings of $4m (€3.2m) this year.
AMRI said the move is part of a shift in geographical focus that will see it invest around $30m in its operations in Asia and create 180 jobs at its operations in Singapore and India over the next few years.
CEO Thomas D’Ambra explained that increased customer focus on cost of services “has led to a continued shift in demand for AMRI’s services from the US to lower cost resources in Asia and Europe.”
He added that: “While we remain cautiously optimistic about a return in demand for contract research outsourcing by the biopharmaceutical industry, softness in the US market has extended beyond our expectations.”
This idea fits with comments made by spokesperson Andrea Schulz who told Outsourcing-Pharma earlier this month that: “continued soft demand from our US specialty pharma... customers” had caused a 9 per cent drop in Q1 revenue.
The reduction in US workforce is also in keeping with global expansion undertaken by AMRI in recent times which, in addition to Asia, saw the firm build in Europe with the acquisition of Wales-based manufacturing firm Excelsyn in February.
AMRI said that laboratory equipment and staff previously employed at the US R&D laboratory affected by the cutbacks will be moved to nearby company locations.
However, as Schulz explained, the wider Rensslaer facility is still a big part of AMRI’s US plans, particularly the high potency active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) R&D laboratory that gained SafeBridge accreditation earlier this year.