BioNTech to close three German plants and cut up to 1,860 jobs after buyer search fails

Failed sales and site closure timeline

BioNTech confirmed on Monday that it will shut down three production facilities in Germany and a site in Singapore after failing to secure buyers. The restructuring affects around 1,800 German employees, with up to 1,860 positions affected across all operations. The German closures will follow a phased schedule: the Tübingen site will cease operations at the end of 2027, followed by the Marburg facility in early 2028 and the Idar-Oberstein plant at the end of 2028. Company management attributed the failure to complete transactions to a difficult market and investment environment despite extensive talks with international, national, and mid-sized biopharmaceutical investors. BioNTech reached an agreement with its group works council on socially responsible severance packages and supplementary redundancy terms for the departing personnel.

Despite the best efforts of all those involved and a wide-ranging sales process, it has unfortunately not been possible to finalise a sale.

Facility roles and the CureVac integration

The affected facilities had served specialized roles across BioNTech's manufacturing network. The Marburg facility, located on the Behringwerke site acquired from Novartis, produced mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and plasmid DNA, a key raw material for mRNA products and cell therapies. The Idar-Oberstein plant in Rhineland-Palatinate manufactured therapeutics for early clinical research phases. In Baden-Württemberg, the Tübingen site served as the operational headquarters of former vaccine competitor CureVac, which BioNTech acquired following an agreement announced in summer 2025. CureVac founder Ingmar Hoerr previously accused BioNTech of deception, stating that the original promise of mutual collaboration had been discarded. While manufacturing sales stalled elsewhere, BioNTech completed the divestment of its Berlin-based peptide unit, JPT Peptide Technologies, transferring approximately 130 jobs to Munich-based Dubag Group.

Strategic pivot to oncology and Pfizer partnership

The closures reflect BioNTech's withdrawal from pandemic-era production and the consolidation of its operations. The company transferred the complete manufacturing process for its COVID-19 vaccine to its United States partner Pfizer. BioNTech is directing freed resources into its pipeline of cancer treatments, aiming to secure regulatory approvals for multiple oncology drugs by 2030. Research activities focus on mRNA-based cancer immunotherapies and antibody-drug conjugates designed to transport chemotherapy agents directly to tumor cells. The full implementation of the restructuring program is projected to generate up to 500 million euros in annual cost savings, which will fund research, clinical development, and eventual commercial drug launches.

Financial pressures and executive transition

The operational changes follow steep revenue declines from falling pandemic-era vaccine demand in Europe and the United States. BioNTech recorded a net loss of 1 billion euros last year, driven by reduced sales and rising research costs, while forecasting 2026 revenue between 2 billion and 2.3 billion euros. The company, which employs approximately 7,200 people globally, is also navigating a full transition in executive leadership. Co-founders Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci announced in March 2026 that they will leave the company by the end of 2026 to establish a new venture dedicated to next-generation mRNA technologies. Guido Oelkers, who has led Swedish biopharmaceutical firm Sobi since 2017, will assume the chief executive role by 1 February 2027 at the latest to guide commercial expansion in the United States market.