Illumina Inc. has started laying off employees as part of its effort to reduce costs during its ongoing fight with activist investor, Carl Icahn. The DNA-sequencing company began the layoffs on June 21 and expects to continue into the third quarter. Illumina has not disclosed the total number of positions that will be affected.
The layoffs are expected to result in charges of $25 million to $35 million throughout the remainder of the year, related to severance pay and other costs associated with restructuring efforts. The majority of these expenses will be counted on the company’s second-quarter results.
As a part of the initiative to cut $100 million in annual recurring costs, the company plans to exit from the “i3 campus” in San Diego and partially leave the Foster City facility in Northern California.
Illumina’s last earnings report in April had already announced the $100 million cut in expenses. Meanwhile, Icahn’s activism has been focused on Illumina’s $7.1 billion acquisition of Grail, which has cast doubt over CEO and Chairman tenure.
