Ginkgo Bioworks, the once-high-flying Boston life sciences firm, said it has notified 158 employees that they will be laid off and expects to announce another batch of layoffs next week.
On May 9, Ginkgo said it would slash labor costs by at least 25 percent. But the Boston-based cell programming and biosecurity company declined to specify the number of workers who would lose jobs.
Ginkgo said in a filing this week with the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development that it plans 158 layoffs. Joseph Fridman, a Ginkgo spokesperson, said the company intended to disclose more planned layoffs to the state next week. He declined to say how many.
Ginkgo had 1,218 employees at the end of last year, according to filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
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“These are amazing employees who are being let go as part of changes we are making to our technology platform at Ginkgo and a near term focus on reaching breakeven,” Ginkgo’s co-founder and chief executive, Jason Kelly, said in a statement. “We are sad to see them go.”
Six weeks ago, Ginkgo reported lackluster earnings that, in Kelly’s words, necessitated “decisive action.”
Revenue fell 53 percent in the first quarter, to $38 million from $81 million during the same period in 2023, according to the company.
The firm also lowered its revenue projections for the year to a range of $170 million to $190 million, down about 20 percent from previous projections of $215 million to $235 million.
Days later, the firm reported more bad news. Ginkgo said it had received a notice from the New York Stock Exchange threatening to delist it because the company’s average closing price was less than $1 per share over 30 consecutive days of trading.
Exchange rules gave Ginkgo six months to boost its stock price. The company said it intended to “regain compliance with [the] NYSE’s continued listing standards and is considering all available options to do so.”
Jonathan Saltzman can be reached at jonathan.saltzman@globe.com.