Ellison Medical Institute Layoffs 88 LA

A state notice filed on Nov. 4 states that the Ellison Medical Institute will eliminate 88 jobs, of which 70 will be at its Los Angeles headquarters. The centre for cancer research was launched by Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and directed by oncologist David Agus, but has not commented on the move. The news brings a host of concerns to the forefront for employees, such as final pay and notice periods and the next step in a tight job market.

Quick Facts

Employer: Ellison Medical Institute, Los Angeles
Positions affected: 88, described as permanent eliminations
Timing: January 2027
Notice filed: November 4, under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) system
Location: 12414 Exposition Blvd., near the Expo/Bundy Metro station
Reason given: None publicly disclosed

What the Filing Tells Us

It operates an 84,000-square-foot facility with research labs, cancer and preventive medicine clinics and community education programs. Its LinkedIn page has 51-200 employees listed, which means it’s not clear how big the Los Angeles workforce is today or what percentage of those job losses account for.

It started in 2016 when Ellison donated approximately $200 million to the University of Southern California to create an interdisciplinary cancer institute. It was later spun off from the university and focuses on new diagnostic strategies and molecular analytics with artificial intelligence. In June, it inked a licensing agreement with UniQuest for an experimental prostate cancer treatment which may enter human trials as early as 2027.

A Wider Pattern in Healthcare

Unlike some of its peers, the institute has not said that the Ellison Medical Institute layoffs are due to financial woes. Others in the industry have been candid in revealing their own:

The addresses listed here are from November 20.
Budget cuts were aimed at increasing the savings in the Medicaid budget, and 225 employees were laid off as a result, which is about 3% of LA Care Health Plan’s employees.
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles: 5.8% of employees were cut last year.
The USC system of institutions and universities has reduced its workforce by 89 jobs for the month of October 2025.

Combined, these moves highlight how healthcare is becoming a recession-immune industry that’s losing its jobs and how the job market is looking in 2027 in the City of Angels.

What Affected Workers Should Know

Any notice from the Ellison Medical Institute employees who are part of the layoffs should be read carefully, and a copy retained by the employee. There are a number of considerations to be made:

Notice period: The California WARN Act generally expects covered employers to give 60 days’ warning before mass layoffs, so check that the dates in your letter line up.
Final pay: All wages earned, including vacation, are due at termination per California law.
Severance: Many employers provide severance payments on a voluntary basis, but it is not required. Carefully read and review any agreement before signing it.
Benefits: Inquire about health coverage, continuation and unemployment claims via the state.
Update résumés: Data, lab or AI professionals need to begin updating their résumés now.

Looking Ahead

The Ellison Medical Institute layoffs may not be a sign that the institute is backing down on AI medicine, and it continues to have international projects like the Ellison Institute of Technology in Oxford. The 88 impacted workers are left doing planning in the dark until the organisation clarifies itself.