Johnson & Johnson plans to lay off 56 employees at its New Brunswick headquarters in the first round of layoffs at the New Jersey pharmaceutical giant, according to the province’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice (WARN) (PDF).
The job cuts, effective Aug. 21, come after the company cut its workforce by 231 people at its New Brunswick facilities in fall 2024. The layoffs are the first that J&J has implemented in the state this year.
A J&J spokeswoman said the job cuts are related to the company’s plans to sell its orthopedics business from its medtech division, which it announced last October.
“We continually evaluate our cost structure and organizational design as part of our ongoing efforts to operate efficiently and support long-term growth,” a J&J spokesperson said in an email. “As we move forward with the separation of our orthopedics division, we are focused on addressing stuck costs and identifying opportunities to further improve operating margins, allowing us to continue to invest in innovation for our patients.”
Layoffs by New Jersey drug companies have been frequent in recent months. Novartis last week cut 76 employees at its U.S. headquarters in East Hanover, its third job cut in as many months. In the past two rounds, Novartis handed out pink slips to 174 people at the same venue.
Additionally, Bristol-Myers Squibb made two cuts this year at its Lawrenceville facility, reducing its workforce by 453 employees.
The job cuts by Novartis and BMS are part of a long-term restructuring effort. Novartis has announced plans to cut 8,000 jobs in 2022. Last March, the company laid off 427 people at its U.S. headquarters. BMS has cut more than 1,700 employees since the beginning of 2025 to save more than $2 billion by 2027.
Another New Jersey biopharmaceutical company that cut jobs earlier this month was Amicus Therapeutics, which cut 58 employees. The layoffs came shortly after the company was acquired by BioMarin for $4.8 billion.
