NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Roche is shuttering its 454 Life Sciences sequencing operations and laying off about 100 employees, the company confirmed today.

The 454 sequencers will be phased out in mid-2016, and the 454 facility in Branford, Conn., will be closed "accordingly," Roche said in a statement e-mailed to GenomeWeb Daily News.

The 100 layoffs will take place during the next three years, and, "Roche is committed to finding socially responsible solutions for the employees affected by these changes," it added.