Wilmington, N.C.-based contract research organization (CRO) PPD is laying off a total of 270 employees in North America, including 80 employees from its North Carolina headquarters.

PPD has offices in 12 states and in Ontario, Canada, and 10,000 employees worldwide. The layoffs are a result of reduced demand for the CRO's services in North America, according to a company statement. Despite the slowdown in North America, the CRO has continued to grow its international operations with the opening of its first Japan office in April and the acquisition of Bulgarian CRO AbCRO earlier this year.

The company has more than $650 million in cash and equivalents and no debt and does not plan to make additional workforce cuts.