BioNTech Cuts 1,860 Jobs, Shuts German Vaccine Plants Amid Q1 Loss

BioNTech announced it will cease COVID‑19 vaccine manufacturing at its Marburg, Idar‑Oberstein, and Tübingen sites by end‑2027. The closures follow declining global demand for pandemic products and a strategic pivot to fund its oncology pipeline. The company will transfer future output to Pfizer’s U.S. facilities, marking the end of Germany’s pandemic‑era vaccine production boom.

- BioNTech plans to cut up to 1,860 jobs across its German and Singapore production sites. - The firm reported a net loss of €531.9 million in the first quarter of 2026. - Professor Sebastian Dullien warned that business‑driven vaccine production site choices can create supply bottlenecks during crises.

The job cuts and plant closures reduce Europe’s domestic mRNA capacity, increasing reliance on American imports amid ongoing U.S.–EU trade tensions. While Pfizer may absorb some output, experts caution that concentrating production in a single geography heightens vulnerability to future health emergencies. Policymakers are weighing the Critical Medicines Act and European Biotech Act to incentivize local manufacturing through subsidies and procurement rules.