Genentech Lays Off 103 Employees in Fifth Round of Cuts Since Mid-2025, Three VPs Among Casualties
Key Insights
Genentech is eliminating 103 positions at its South San Francisco headquarters, marking the fifth round of layoffs since mid-2025 and bringing total job cuts to nearly 600.
Three long-tenured vice presidents—Vishva Dixit (29 years), Man-Wah Tan (16 years), and Todd McDevitt (3 years)—are among those departing as part of a gRED restructuring.
The company is shutting down its physiological chemistry and infectious disease teams while reducing staff in other groups, though it continues to hire for critical positions.
Genentech, the South San Francisco-based biotechnology subsidiary of Roche, is eliminating 103 positions across several areas of its organization, marking the fifth round of workforce reductions in just over a year. The cuts bring the total to nearly 600 jobs eliminated since mid-2025, according to California WARN filings and company disclosures.
The layoffs include reductions within the Genentech Research and Early Development (gRED) group as well as other parts of the organization. A company spokesperson told Fierce Biotech that "103 positions across several areas will be eliminated," while emphasizing that "most of these are focused adjustments within Genentech impacting a small proportion of the organization and we continue to hire within Genentech, including gRED."
Three Vice Presidents Depart Amid Restructuring
Among the most notable casualties are three long-tenured vice presidents whose departures were disclosed in June 2026. Vishva Dixit, M.D., who served at Genentech for 29 years, headed the physiological chemistry unit. Man-Wah Tan, Ph.D., a 16-year veteran, led the infectious disease group. Todd McDevitt, Ph.D., who had been chief of the cell therapy unit for three years, was also let go.
"We are deeply grateful for their leadership, groundbreaking discoveries, and the impact of their work," Genentech's spokesperson said.
According to Endpoints News, which first reported the layoffs, an internal communication from Aviv Regev, Ph.D., head of the gRED group, stated that Genentech was shutting down its physiological chemistry and infectious disease teams and reducing staff in other groups.
A Pattern of Workforce Reductions
The latest round of cuts follows a pattern that has defined Genentech's workforce strategy for more than a year. The company cut at least 489 employees last year, with rounds of 143 layoffs taking effect in July 2025, 87 more in September, and 118 in November—plus 141 additional cuts disclosed months later. In April 2024, a 3% workforce reduction by Roche affected 436 Genentech employees.
According to WARN Tracker's compilation of California WARN records, Genentech had filed 14 WARN notices totaling 2,048 layoffs dating back to 2017, as of the most recent compilation through November 2025.
Strategic Realignment, Not Retreat
Despite the reductions, Genentech maintains that it continues to hire for positions within gRED. "These positions reflect the capabilities, expertise, and areas of science that are most critical to advancing our portfolio and delivering transformative medicines to patients," the spokesperson said.
The company framed the cuts as part of an ongoing evolution. "To stay ahead in a fast-moving industry and continue to deliver world-class science and medicines, we must continually evolve how we work," the Genentech spokesperson said. "This requires making difficult decisions to focus our resources on the work that creates the highest impact for patients."
The restructuring is designed to "ensure our capabilities and investments are aligned with our core therapeutic areas and portfolio priorities," the spokesperson added, signaling a strategic narrowing of research focus within one of the biotechnology industry's most storied organizations.