Enzo Biochem in Farmingdale to Lay Off 247 Employees

Enzo Biochem in Farmingdale to Lay Off 247 Employees

Medical laboratory Enzo Biochem will lay off 247 employees at its Farmingdale facility in July, according to filings with the New York State Department of Labor.

The layoffs come after the company announced in March that it will sell the Long Island clinical research lab to Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, commonly known as Labcorp. The sale is under an agreement and awaiting finalization.

“Enzo Biochem is committed to compliance with all applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations, including the issuance of termination notices in accordance with The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act,” a spokesperson for Enzo Biochem said in an email to the Press. “Enzo is working with employees to facilitate a transition during this period.”

According to the notice filed on April 20, the layoffs are set for July 17, 2023. The 257 employees facing layoffs are not represented by a union and make up about half of the company’s workforce.

Enzo Biochem’s sale of its clinical laboratory division means it will be left with its life sciences division. Leaders in the company have said that the sale will help them focus on maximizing shareholder value.

“Completion of the sale will position Enzo to assess and execute on further actions to increase shareholder value and advance our global leadership within the life sciences sector,” Hamid Erfanian, CEO of Enzo Biochem, said in a statement in March. “We are very grateful to all our colleagues who have made Enzo Clinical Labs a trusted source for patient care. With proven expertise in clinical laboratory services and products, Labcorp is perfectly positioned to bring these operations to new levels of momentum and success.”

The company had said in a March news release that it began planning in 2022 “a strategic initiative to restructure operations” to key in on areas of opportunity for growth. It cited Enzo Life Sciences, which assists in “drug discovery, development and translational research applications,” as that sector.