The layoffs are part of an ongoing effort to reduce operating costs amid government and competitive challenges to its vaccine business.

Biotech giant Moderna announced it will lay off 10% of its workforce in a move CEO Stéphane Bancel called “a difficult decision but necessary step forward,” in an internal memo sent to employees today.

Moderna said on Thursday it would trim roughly 10% of its global workforce and have fewer than 5,000 employees by the end of the year, as the biotech accelerates its cost-cutting efforts amid declining sales of COVID-19 vaccines.