In keeping with its 2027 cost-cutting deadline, Merck & Co. announced another round of layoffs at its global headquarters in Rahway, New Jersey.
The cut comes just days after the drugmaker’s summer layoff of 88 people took effect on Sept. 4 Now, a new round of layoffs will trim another 54 positions in two phases, in December 2026 and January 2027, according to documents filed with the New Jersey Department of Labor.
The staff reductions come as the pharma plans to save $3 billion in annual costs by 2027—a move that was projected to cut approximately 6,000 staffers globally— and redirect those funds into new product launches.
In a statement to Fierce, Merck framed the latest cuts as part of “the next phase of personnel impacts related to its multiyear optimization.” The company did not disclose which departments will be affected.
“We remain committed to New Jersey, as we continue to employ more than 8,000 people in the state,” the company told Fierce, pointing to nearly $3 billion it has invested in its New Jersey operations between 2018 and 2025.
Merck is focusing on new growth as its blockbuster anchor product, Keytruda, faces imminent competition and potential biosimilar pressure. In 2025, the drug made up almost half of Merck’s total revenue, bringing in $31.7 billion. But the company’s patent protection over the flagship immunotherapy lapses in 2028. Several promising, likely cheaper, alternatives are already in the pipeline.
Beyond Rahway, Merck announced layoffs for 163 Pennsylvania employees last year, as it wound down operations at its Cherokee manufacturing plant in Riverside. The company also cut 154 employees from its North Carolina vaccine manufacturing plant in May, citing decreased demands for its HPV shot, Gardasil.
Merck isn’t the only Big Pharma company working to cut costs. In 2025, 17 of the largest pharmaceutical companies collectively reduced their workforce by more than 22,000 while bracing for $300 billion in loss of exclusivity over the next five years.
The Keytruda maker also isn’t the only company slashing HQ staff in New Jersey. In July, Novartis handed pink slips to 322 employees at its East Hannover headquarters, its fourth round of layoffs at the site in five months’ time. Johnson & Johnson announced 56 layoffs at its New Brunswick headquarters in May as part of its plans to separate its orthopedic business.
Also in May, BioMarin cut 58 roles from its newly acquired Amicus Therapeutics headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey. Novo Nordisk and Bristol Myers Squibb also made major cuts to their New Jersey headquarters staff last fall.