Nearly 500 Amgen employees in Thousand Oaks have been notified that they will be re-assigned, relocated or laid off as part of a restructuring plan.

The biotech giant informed employees on March 22 that they will be reassigned to a new Tampa Bay, Fla. facility and research and development offices in Cambridge, Mass. and South San Francisco.

While some staff will be relocating, others will be changing roles in Thousand Oaks, said Kristen Davis, Amgen spokeswoman, in an exclusive interview with the Business Times.

“There’s just under 500 individuals who were notified of changes to their roles that will take effect over the next year and a half,” said Davis. “For those staff who or impacted or laid off, there will definitely be a comprehensive benefits package that they will receive.”

About 50 Thousand Oaks employees will be moving to the new Tampa capability center.

“Those groups that will be relocated there will be information systems, human resources and finances,” Davis said. “Overall, the capability center is going to be responsible for staff support and business support activities. We are bringing these services together because we believe the center can improve collaboration and share best practices.”

She said Tampa was a good fit for the company.

“Tampa was chosen because of the availability of skilled talent, proximity to our global sites, high quality and affordable cost of living for staff,” Davis said.

Approximately 100 Thousand Oaks-based jobs will transition to the Cambridge, Mass. and South San Francisco sites.

“The reason for this move is to align and advance functional capabilities, co-locate staff with cross-functional teams and increase access to innovation and talent in Cambridge and San Francisco,” Davis said.

Thousand Oaks will still be Amgen’s primary home, she said.

“Thousand Oaks will remain an important research site for Amgen, with critical discovery research and translational sciences capabilities staying in Thousand Oaks,” Davis said. “Thousand Oaks will remain Amgen’s global headquarters and we deeply value being a part of the local community.”

The actual number of staff departing Amgen will be significantly below the 500 by the completion of the transition, as some will be relocating and others will be changing roles in Thousand Oaks, Davis said.

The company has about 5,500 current Thousand Oaks-based employees.

• Contact Joshua Molina at jmolina@pacbiztimes.com.