Pharmaceutical company Catalent to lay off 400 employees at Bloomington location

BLOOMINGTON — Pharmaceutical company Catalent, Inc., one of the largest employers in Bloomington, plans to lay off roughly 400 employees at its location there.

A spokesperson for the company confirms a letter was sent to employees stating they will be notified by Friday of their employment status.

Of those impacted, about 60 are temporary workers.

"We will offer severance and job transition support to all impacted employees and will seek to deploy as many as possible to other open roles in the network. Bloomington remains an important part of Catalent's global network and long-term growth strategy," the spokesperson wrote in an email to WRTV.

Catalent, based out of New Jersey, employs more than 19,000 people, according to its website. The company hired thousands of employees over the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, it contributed to the production of vaccines and treatments against the disease.

In 2017, Catalent acquired Cook Group for $950 million.

Its Bloomington location specializes in clinical and commercial biomanufacturing and drug product fill/finish and packaging, according to the company's website.

"To meet the needs of the pandemic, we added personnel to the facility at an extraordinary rate to ensure that we could meet our commitments, but now the size and structure of our organization needs to match current demands in order to increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness," the spokesperson said in a statement.

"they did a great job in 2020 and 2021 ramping up vaccine production and people have gotten more efficient. so if the volume is no longer there to support it, it's kinda hard to justify keeping so many people on the payroll"

George Telthorst with the IU Kelly School of Business says the Bloomington area is home to several life sciences and bio-medical companies that are in need of qualified candidates.

"There are four other significant firms in the area, and I think they're going to be wanted to hire experienced people who are let go from Catalent," Telthorst said. "So I feel that people here are going to be able to find jobs pretty readily."

In a statement shared on Facebook, Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton says he is sad to hear of the layoffs so close to the holiday.