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Takeda Pharmaceutical, the largest drug maker in Massachusetts by headcount, on Friday confirmed that it plans to lay off 641 employees in the state between early July and next March.
Some 495 layoffs will be in Cambridge and 146 in Lexington, according to a filing by the Tokyo-based drug giant with the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
A company spokesperson declined to specify what kinds of workers would be laid off but said the job cuts were part of a restructuring plan announced on May 9 by Takeda’s chief executive, Christophe Weber.
Takeda’s US headquarters is located in Cambridge and the company employed 6,290 workers in the state in 2023, according to the most recent “industry snapshot” of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council. That was far more than any other company in the state’s robust biopharma sector.
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Takeda is “committed to our presence in Massachusetts” and expects to remain the largest life sciences employer in the state, according to the spokesperson.
On May 9, Weber announced a restructuring plan after annual profits fell by more than half following the loss of patent protection of several major drugs. The company estimated it would incur about $900 million in costs while it reorganized and trimmed its drug pipeline.
Weber said at the time that the firm needed “rigorous prioritization, efficiencies and organizational agility.” Cost-cutting measures have included plans to close Takeda’s research site in San Diego.
Jonathan Saltzman can be reached at jonathan.saltzman@globe.com.