BERKELEY — Bayer’s plan for a massive expansion of its Berkeley campus is poised to create several hundred jobs and double employment at the complex over the next 30 years, a report released Thursday shows.
The expansion envisions the construction of 918,000 square feet of new buildings through 2052, according to a proposed development agreement that the life sciences firm has filed with Berkeley officials. An estimated 779,500 square feet of parking facilities would also be added.
Bayer is already deemed a key player in contributing to the economy and the Bay Area job market. Germany-based Bayer has operated in Berkeley since 1974, when the company, then known as Miles Labs, bought its first building in the East Bay city.
“This is a transformational time in the advancement of medicine,” said Jens Vogel, a senior vice president and global head of biotech for Bayer. “For us, the focus is on the patients we can serve by developing and bringing forward new medicines for cancer, cardiovascular disease, and debilitating conditions like Parkinson’s.”
At present, Bayer employs about 1,000 people at its Berkeley campus on Dwight Way, according to city officials. The expansion would add another 1,000 jobs through 2052 as additions are built out over the 30 years.
“Bayer is a major player in the region’s biotech and life sciences ecosystem,” said Jeff Bellisario, executive director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, which prepared the new report released Thursday.
By the time the expansion is complete, the Bayer Berkeley campus is expected to support about 3,800 jobs directly or indirectly, the Bay Area Council economics researchers determined.
“The jobs that Bayer provides now and into the future are critical in creating economic balance and opportunity at multiple wage levels,” Bellisario said.
The actual work to build the expanded campus is expected to generate the full-time equivalent of 1,700 construction jobs through 2052. Plus, the Bayer expanson would generate direct and indirect benefits for the Bay Area beyond the hiring boom that would accompany the development of the life sciences campus. Over the course of the 30 years covered by the development agreement, Bayer is expected to generate $613.1 million in economic impact for the Bay Area. That’s up 76% from the current estimated economic impact of $353.2 for the Bay Area, the report stated.
“With a plan to double its headcount by 2052, Bayer’s proposed expansion in Berkeley signals the future of advanced manufacturing in the region,” Bellisario said.
Once the expansion is completed, job categories at the Bayer Berkeley campus will consist of production, 35%; maintenance, 15%; laboratory 38%, and Administration 12%, according to the Bay Area Council Economic Institute.
“Employees of the Berkeley campus are focused primarily on developing and manufacturing hematology drugs in addition to developing medicines for patients with cancer and cardiovascular diseases,” the report stated.
As of the start of 2021, Bayer had produced three treatments for hemophilia at the existing Berkeley complex.
Bayer executives said the company believes it can play a role in helping the Bay Area bounce back from its coronavirus-linked economic woes.
“We know how hard the economy has been hit during the pandemic and it’s great to see that we can be part of a turnaround for the region long-term,” Vogel, the Bayer executive, said.
