Novo Nordisk will lay off around 400 employees at its Bloomington site at the beginning of May, about a fifth of the drug manufacturing facility’s workforce.
Company spokesperson Stacy Beard confirmed the move in an email to the Indiana Daily Student on Monday. The move follows a tumultuous history for the Bloomington site, including several rounds of layoffs when Catalent owned it from 2017 to late 2024.
“We are deeply grateful to every impacted colleague and are committed to treating them with respect and dignity through this process, including severance, outplacement assistance and transition support,” Beard said.
Catalent, a third-party drug manufacturer, previously owned the site at 1300 S. Patterson Dr. Years of layoffs and alleged mismanagement under Catalent left many workers hopeful for Novo’s takeover bid, looking for a better company culture.
Novo Nordisk’s parent company completed its $16.5 billion acquisition of Catalent in December 2024. According to Novo’s website, the Bloomington site employs more than 1,800 people.
In September last year, the company announced it would cut 9,000 jobs, 4,000 of which would be outside of Denmark.
On Tuesday, the City of Bloomington acknowledged the impending layoffs in a press release. The city said Novo Nordisk site head Lars Arnoldsen notified Mayor Kerry Thomson about the reductions, and discussed the local impacts. The city, the release said, will work to connect laid off employees with other work and support.
“Our focus is on the individuals affected,” Mayor Kerry Thomson said in the release. “We know this is a difficult moment for many and we are committed to helping ensure that those impacted have clear pathways forward.”
UPDATE: This story was updated to include comment from the City of Bloomington.
