Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. has agreed to buy Dublin-based Shire PLC for $62 billion in a deal announced May 8 that could affect hundreds of Shire employees in Los Angeles.

The acquisition, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, would create the world’s eighth-largest drugmaker with combined sales worth $30 billion. It is expected to close by the summer of 2019.

The Takeda takeover will mean lay-offs, the Osaka-based Takeda said, as the companies consolidate operations.

What’s unclear is how it might affect Shire operations in Los Angeles.

A Shire plant in Atwater Village develops plasma-related treatments for hemophilia, trauma, kidney disease and immune system disorders.

Shire acquired it 2016 when it merged with Baxalta, a biopharmaceutical spinoff of Baxter International, for $32 billion. The merger also meant acquiring a genomics research laboratory in Thousand Oaks.

A Business Journal ranking of the region’s largest biotechnology firms in March listed the Los Angeles’ Shire subsidiary as tied for fifth, with 1,500 local workers.

Health business reporter Dana Bartholomew can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @_DanaBart.