Overview
- BioNTech confirmed on Monday that its Tübingen, Marburg and Idar‑Oberstein sites will shut on a staged timetable with Tübingen closing end‑2027, Marburg early‑2028 and Idar‑Oberstein end‑2028.
- The company said months of talks with domestic and international buyers produced no deals, which it attributed to the currently difficult market and investment environment for standalone vaccine and mRNA plants.
- About 1,800 employees across the three sites will be affected; BioNTech and the group works council have agreed supplemental severance terms intended to ease the impact while local leaders warn of regional job and skills losses.
- The decision follows heavy first‑half 2026 losses (a €1.35 billion net deficit) and is part of a wider plan to cut capacity and redirect funds into oncology and other mRNA‑based therapeutics, with the company projecting roughly €500 million in recurring annual savings from 2029.
- The closures mark a formal end to parts of BioNTech’s Covid‑era production footprint — the Marburg plant made mRNA vaccines and plasmid DNA after being bought from Novartis — and come as founders Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci prepare to leave by year‑end to start a new firm called Arife while remaining shareholders.