260 MA Employees Face Layoffs Amid Rising Financial Pressures

MASSACHUSETTS — Three companies have announced that they are laying off workers in Massachusetts this year.

Panera Bread, Zipcar and Thermo Fisher Scientific will lay off some 260 employees after filing Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice with the state last week.

Panera Bread will lay off 92 employees at its Franklin facility between Mar. 25 and Mar. 27. This comes as the company plans to close its facility at 290 Beaver St., the Boston Business Journal first reported.

This is part of a transition away from the company's fresh-dough facilities, which began more than a year ago, the company told Patch. But Panera did not say it plans to close any of its Massachusetts storefronts.

Related: National Food Chain To Lay Off 92 Employees, Close MA Bakery Facility

Zipcar is also planning to lay off 65 employees at its headquarters in Boston's Seaport neighborhood between Apr. 1 and Apr. 14.

Thermo Fisher Scientific, also based in Franklin, is expected to lay off 103 employees over the next two years. The company said it also plans to close its facility in Central Massachusetts, according to reports.

The hundreds of layoff notices come as Massachusetts residents and businesses continue to face financial pressures. A leader at the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance told the Boston Herald that this comes as the state becomes more expensive, unpredictable, and hostile to employers.

The news of the closure comes amid other factory closures in the Bay State. A factory in Hyannis that makes the beloved Cape Cod Potato Chips announced last week that it would close in April.

See Also:

• Hyannis Factory To Close; Cape Cod Chips Soon No Longer Made Here
• Major Luxury Discount Retailer To Close MA Stores