Bristol Myers Squibb plans another major round of job cuts in New Jersey, bringing the number of total layoffs the company has announced this year in the Garden State to more than 700.
In a WARN notice (PDF) filed with New Jersey's labor and workforce development department, BMS said it plans to lay off 265 employees tied to its corporate headquarters in Princeton. The reductions are expected to be implemented between December 2026 and May 2027, according to the notice.
The latest workforce reductions follow two other layoff rounds BMS announced this year in New Jersey, first in February affecting 247 staffers and another in April covering 206 roles.
“We continue to align our resources and organizational structure to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving landscape,” a BMS spokesperson said in a statement to Fierce. “These efforts help us operate more efficiently, create flexibility to invest in growth opportunities and our differentiated pipeline, and continue delivering long-term value for patients, colleagues, and shareholders.”
The spokesperson did not specify the types of jobs being targeted in the latest slim-down.
Like many of its Big Pharma peers, BMS is executing a multiyear cost-cutting initiative. Announced in February 2025, the New Jersey pharma aims to save $2 billion in annual costs by the end of 2027.
BMS launched the restructuring as it shifts resources from declining older medicines—which have posted some surprisingly strong revenues in recent quarters—to newer products.
“We continue to benefit from our strategic productivity initiative, which provides us both the ability to reduce expenses in identified areas as well as the flexibility to invest in multiple growth-oriented opportunities,” BMS’ CFO David Elkins said during the company’s second-quarter earnings call in July.
As part of its second-quarter report, BMS slightly increased its projection of full-year operating expenses in 2026 to about $16.5 billion, reflecting prelaunch activities supports its CELMoD franchise, the expanding development program for its BioNTech-partnered PD-L1xVEGF bispecific pumitamig and “opportunities to further support the growth portfolio,” Elkins said.
BMS’ latest layoffs also follow a reported merger with AstraZeneca that appears to have fallen through. Such a combination between two pharma giants would cause significant job reductions as the newly formed entity seeks cost synergies.
As Big Pharma faces a steep patent cliff, many companies have turned to job cuts to save costs. Also in New Jersey, Novartis has telegraphed four layoff rounds affecting altogether 572 people.
Merck & Co., aiming to save $3 billion by the end of 2027, has itself delivered pink slips to 142 staffers tied to its headquarters in Rahway, including a 54-person round announced earlier this month.