A major employer in Buncombe County informed the N.C. Department of Commerce in early January of plans to shutter a facility in Asheville by Dec. 31, 2027.

Thermo Fisher Scientific sent a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) letter to the department giving notice of its plans to close its facility at 274 Aiken Road. The letter stated that 421 employees will be impacted.

According to its website, Thermo Fisher Scientific is “is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue over $40 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, increasing productivity in their laboratories, improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies, we are here to support them.”

The letter said the first separation of employees is expected to occur on Dec. 31, 2026 and may continue through Dec. 31, 2027.

Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer said this was a loss for the area in a statement.

"As community members across Western North Carolina continue to recover from Hurricane Helene’s impact on the region’s economy, this is certainly a blow for the town of Weaverville and surrounding areas," she said. "People are already feeling the impact of nationally rising prices from the grocery store to vital health care costs. We’re concerned for the employees and families most directly impacted by this impending closure, as well as those indirectly impacted, including in Asheville, by the ripple effect of lost job opportunities and revenue base in the region. To  limit the distress and disruption to individuals and their families, it will be critical to connect employees to resources to find new employment and job training.”

The WARN letter included the positions that would be impacted, including 64 Assembler IIs, 32 Operator II, Manufacturing, 22 Lead Assemblers, and many more.

A statement from Thermo Fisher reads:

“Thermo Fisher Scientific continuously evaluates its global operations to identify opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness in meeting our customers’ needs. There are times when we must evolve our organization to remain in line with current customer demands. Operations currently performed at our Asheville site will be phased out by the end of 2026, with certain product lines transferring to U.S. facilities. All impacted colleagues will receive job transition support to aid them in finding new opportunities.

“While this announcement reflects a change in Thermo Fisher’s laboratory products manufacturing footprint, it does not reflect a strategic change in our commitment to U.S. manufacturing or our substantial investment in North Carolina.”