Evotec slashes staff as turnaround plan gathers pace
Evotec's unit in Abingdon, UK, is one of four locations set to close in project Horizon.
Evotec has announced the next phase of its company overhaul, dubbed Horizon, that will see 800 people lose their jobs in a bid to cut €75 million in costs by the end of 2027.
The layoffs follow around 600 cuts last year and represent a major reduction in workforce at the Hamburg-based contract research organisation (CRO), which employed around 5,000 people at the start of the year.
Four sites are also set to be shut down in the latest phase of the Priority Reset restructuring programme, which started in 2024 – shortly after a failed $2.1 billion takeover bid by Halozyme – and followed a period of falling revenues attributed to a weaker contract research market that decimated its share price and valuation.
The original intention was to create a "more targeted and cost-efficient business," according to Evotec, which said that the new Horizon phase is focused on achieving accelerated, sustainable growth out to 2030.
The programme has already resulted in an exit from some categories, notably gene therapies, the closure of five of 19 global locations, and the sale of assets, including an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facility. There has also been heavy investment in the Just-Evotec Biologics (JEB) production unit in Toulouse, which has not yet been fully offset by revenue growth.
The four additional locations to be shut down include sites in Munich, Germany, Abingdon in the UK, and Framingham in the US, according to slides in a presentation on the new programme, and will take the number of locations operated by Evotec down to 10 within two years.
The overall aim is to reduce overlap and fragmentation in its network and create 'centres of excellence' matched to its key areas of focus in the drug discovery and preclinical development market.
"We are now transforming our operating model," said chief executive Dr Christian Wojczewski.
"This will enable deeper integration, faster decision making, and greater agility for our customers and partners," he added. "Horizon positions Evotec for stronger performance through 2027 and lays the foundation for further optimisation and intelligent scaling toward 2030."
Shares in the company fell sharply after the announcement to a new 52-week low, continuing a decline that has seen a third of its value wiped out in the past 12 months.
The Horizon announcement accompanied provisional financial figures for 2025, including revenues of €788 million, down from €797 million for the prior year, with a 16% fall in discovery and preclinical development to €529 million that was offset by a 40% increase for JEB to €259 million.
