Hologic Diagnostic Facility Closures Result in 190 Finland & France Layoffs

A little over a month since Hologic announced it would shutter an undisclosed number of its international diagnostic division facilities, the company recently filed a notice with the SEC confirming 190 worker layoffs in Finland and France.

The company action is part of its decision to discontinue the manufacturing and sale of certain Mobidiag business products, part of Hologic’s diagnostic segment. The Finland and France facilities R&D and operations will be relocated to San Diego, CA.

“During the first quarter of fiscal 2024, the company further refined its strategy for the Mobidiag business, which is within the diagnostics reportable segment,” the SEC filing wrote. “The strategy change included the decision to discontinue the manufacture and sale of certain products, closure of its facilities in Finland and France, and to move the development activities and operations to the company’s San Diego, California location. In connection with this plan, the company finalized its decision to terminate the employees at these locations, totaling 190.”

At this time, it was not disclosed the individual employee layoff number connected to each facility. The company said in the SEC filing that it has finished negotiations with work councils and disclosed the layoff plan to affected employees in Q224. The estimated total severance charges, including accelerated stock compensation, according to Hologic, is $12.2 million.

Laid off employees will reportedly be cut in phases. “During the second quarter of fiscal 2024, the company recorded $4.0 million for severance benefits,” according to the filing. “This action is expected to be completed by the second quarter of fiscal 2025.”

The layoff notice comes not long after Hologic, in March, announced it would close an unspecified number of international facilities within its diagnostic division amid product discontinuations and restructuring. At the time, the company did not disclose how many employees would be affected by the shutdowns but said there was an expected severance cost from $4 million to $8 million, a departure from the newly reported estimate of $12.2 million.

Both the facility closure and layoff announcements come after Hologic CFO Karleen Oberton, also in March, scolded executives enacting layoffs in the medtech industry, telling The Wall Street Journal that the company has avoided these actions by carefully managing its hiring. Additionally, Oberton told the journal that, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Hologic operated under a “philosophy that mass layoffs are a failure of leadership,” — a comment that may not have aged as well as the company had hoped.