Mass Layoff Confirmed at Bausch + Lomb in St. Louis

There's a mass layoff that has been confirmed for Bausch + Lomb at their Kirkwood, Missouri facility as the manufacture of certain surgical products is being moved out of the St. Louis area.

I saw the Missouri Jobs site updated today with an alert that 119 workers for Bausch + Lomb in Kirkwood, Missouri would be laid off. I reached out to the media contact spokesperson at the company and got clarification of what's going on. Here's what was sent to me:

"We’re transferring production of certain surgical products from St. Louis. To manage inventory and ensure uninterrupted product availability, the transfer will occur in phases. Impacted employees will be provided ongoing support throughout the process, including severance packages (pay and benefits) and access to outplacement services."

There is now a WARN notice from Bausch + Lomb shared by the state of Missouri that provides a few more details. It states that the facility affected is located at 3365 Tree Court Industrial Blvd in Kirkwood and that while layoffs will start August 10, the rest of the separation should be complete by December 17. It says the layoffs are permanent. It does not state where the work is being moved to.

According to the Missouri Jobs Center, the layoffs will begin on our around August 10, 2026. This new round of layoffs brings the total in Missouri from companies reporting to the Missouri Jobs site to 1,939 as of the date of this writing.

Let's hope all of the employees affected by this layoff in Kirkwood end up landing on their feet in better situations.