AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT PTC THERAPEUTICS

South Plainfield, New Jersey-based PTC Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company focused on the development of orally administered small molecule drugs and gene therapy, has announced plans for a cost-cutting and restructuring initiative, including a 25% reduction in its workforce

The reduction in force will impact approximately 350 employees, primarily working on early-stage research programs and those at its gene therapy manufacturing facility located in Hopewell, New Jersey. "The Company plans to substantially complete the reduction in workforce by January 15, 2024."

This is the second round of layoffs this year.

The decision appears to be driven by a regulatory setback for its drug Translarna, used to combat Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

According to an SEC filing, "On September 28, 2023, PTC Therapeutics, Inc. announced further strategic prioritization following the continued review of its portfolio that the Company began in May 2023. In connection with the strategic prioritization, on September 28, 2023, the Company committed to a reduction in workforce of approximately 25%, which will primarily affect employees in the United States, including those employees involved in early-stage research and gene therapy manufacturing and associated selling, general and administrative functions."

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT INNOVATION REFUNDS

West Des Moines, Iowa-based Innovation Refunds, a service to assist companies in filing for the government's Employee Retention Credit and tax refunds in return for a percentage of the refund, has announced the layoff of 40% of its workforce.

The layoff will impact 155 employees.

The decision was driven by the Internal Revenue Service's moratorium on new ERC filings due to massive fraud within the system. The moratorium will last until December 31, 2023, and the pause will give the IRS time to strengthen its systems and procedures.

According to IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel, "The IRS is increasingly alarmed about honest small business owners being scammed by unscrupulous actors, and we could no longer tolerate growing evidence of questionable claims pouring in. The further we get from the pandemic, the further we see the good intentions of this important program abused. The continued aggressive marketing of these schemes is harming well-meaning businesses and delaying the payment of legitimate claims, which makes it harder to run the rest of the tax system. This harms all taxpayers, not just ERC applicants."

"For those people being pressured by promoters to apply for the Employee Retention Credit, I urge them to immediately pause and review their situation while we look to add new protections and safeguards to stop bad claims from ever coming in. In the meantime, businesses should seek out a trusted tax professional who actually understands the complex ERC rules, not a promoter or marketer hustling to get a hefty contingency fee. Businesses that receive ERC payments improperly face the daunting prospect of paying those back, so we urge the utmost caution. The moratorium will help protect taxpayers by adding a new safety net onto this program to focus on fraudulent claims and scammers taking advantage of honest taxpayers."

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT FLEXE (01/08/24)

JANUARY 8, 2024 — ANOTHER 99 GONE

In another round of layoffs, Flex cut another 38% of its workforce which impacted 99 employees.

A company spokesperson said in a statement, “Flexe made the decision given the ongoing market volatility in the logistics industry driven by continued macroeconomic uncertainty. While we have a very strong cash position, it is important that we preserve our ability to continue investing in the business."

CEO Karl Siebrecht noted, “Flexe made the decision given the ongoing market volatility in the logistics industry driven by continued macroeconomic uncertainty. While we have a very strong cash position, it is important that we preserve our ability to continue investing in the business. We remain committed to supporting our departing employees and to continuing to provide world-class service to our customers.”

OCTOBER 10, 2023 — Original blog…

Seattle, Washington-based Flexe, a provider of a cloud-based logistics platform to manage eCommerce fulfillment, retail distribution, same-day delivery, and network capacity programs to the Fortune 500, has announced a 33% reduction in its workforce.

Approximately 131 employees, including logistics, solutions and integration analysts, and senior software engineers located in Seattle, Washington, are impacted by the layoffs which will commence November 27, 2023.

A company spokesperson noted, that the decision was driven by the need to stay ahead of the changing economic environment that most logistics businesses are experiencing."

"We have made the difficult decision to part ways with 33% of staff. We are sincerely saddened to lose such great talent. Our team remains focused on serving our enterprise customers.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?