NJ Pharmaceutical Companies To Lay Off Thousands As New Trump Tariffs Announced

President Donald Trump has announced 100 percent tariffs on imported branded pharmaceuticals, a move that could affect a number of companies that operate in New Jersey.

The announcement comes as several companies have announced layoffs in New Jersey in September in a sector already set to lose nearly 2,200 positions into 2026, according to state Department of Labor records.

New Jersey is home to 14 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies in the world, according to Choose New Jersey, and nearly 3,000 life sciences companies, according to the BioPharmGuy blog. More than 118,000 people work in the industry, according to Choose New Jersey.

Trump announced the 100 percent tariffs on imported branded pharmaceuticals starting Oct. 1 on Thursday night.

The tariff announcement was pressuring stock prices of foreign drug companies, Fortune magazine reported. The report said U.S. consumers will feel "a meaningful commercial hit," with increased prices for medications, quoting Oxford Economics analyst Louise Loo.

Trump has been pressuring pharmaceutical companies to reduce their drug prices, and the tariff announcement said it won't apply if "a Company IS BUILDING their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant in America. 'IS BUILDING' will be defined as, 'breaking ground' and/or 'under construction.' There will, therefore, be no Tariff on these Pharmaceutical Products if construction has started."

It's unclear how that applies to foreign drugmakers that already have manufacturing plants in the United States, such as Novo Nordisk and Novartis, which both submitted layoff notices to the New Jersey Department of Labor in September.

The pharmaceutical company with the largest number of layoffs announced in 2025 is Bristol Myers Squibb. It submitted its fifth WARN notice in September, for 282 employees, following notices in February releasing 290 employees; a notice in May announcing the reduction of 516 positions, one in June of 68 employees. The 1,156 layoffs are scheduled to be completed in March, according to the notices. The company has more than 30,000 employees worldwide.

The company produces a spectrum of medications, including Eliquis, a blood thinner; Cobenfy, which treats schizophrenia, and Sotyktu, which treats psoriasis. It offers Eliquis to patients on a direct purchase basis and is planning to do the same with Sotyktu, Reuters reported, at an 80 percent discount.

"As shared on our quarterly earnings calls earlier this year, we remain focused on developing and delivering transformational medicines to patients around the world and continue to deliver on our long-term business strategy by aligning resources to best support our operating model and our portfolio evolution," a Bristol Myers Squibb spokesperson said in regard to the layoffs.

"Unfortunately, there were impacts to some of our employees as a result of these changes noted above. We are grateful for the contributions of our colleagues and a top priority for us is supporting employees throughout the transition process," the spokesperson said.

Novartis, which announced 427 layoffs in March and an additional 58 in September, ending in June 2026, said the layoffs are the result of adjustments to "the external environment."

"Novartis continually assesses opportunities to drive growth and sustainable performance, and as such, we direct our efforts and talent toward the areas where we can create the greatest potential impact for patients and customers," a company spokesman said. "As the external environment continues to change, our operations will also evolve to ensure we are best positioned to deliver our innovative medicines to patients in need."

Novartis employs 3,000 people in East Hanover, where all 485 layoffs are slated to happen, and has about 12,000 employees in the United States. It produces Keysimpta, which treats multiple sclerosis, and is researching several medications for autoimmune disorders, including lupus.

Novo Nordisk, which produces Ozempic and Wegovy, along with a host of insulin products for those with diabetes, announced it will lay off 263 people from its Plainsboro location at the end of 2025.

A company spokesperson said the layoffs are part of the company's global transformation that includes about 9,000 layoffs across the company's worldwide workforce of more than 78,400, with more than 5,000 of the reductions coming in Denmark, where the company is based.

Novo Nordisk's U.S. headquarters is in New Jersey, and the company employs more than 10,000 people at 12 manufacturing, R&D and corporate locations in eight states plus Washington, DC, the spokesperson said.

"As the global leader in obesity and diabetes, Novo Nordisk delivers life-changing products for patients worldwide," said Mike Doustdar, Novo Nordisk president and CEO. "But our markets are evolving, particularly in obesity, as it has become more competitive and consumer-driven. Our company must evolve as well. This means instilling an increased performance-based culture, deploying our resources ever more effectively, and prioritising investment where it will have the most impact – behind our leading therapy areas."

Other pharmaceutical companies that have announced layoffs or laid off employees in 2025 are:

Eisai, a Japanese company, cut 57 employees in the spring at its U.S. headquarters in Nutley, part of a reduction of 121, NorthJersey.com reported. The company focuses on medications for neurology and oncology and jointly developed Leqembi, an Alzheimer's drug, with Biogen. It received FDA approval earlier this year.

Merck announced in August it will cut 58 jobs at its Rahway facility by mid-November.

Organon, based in Jersey City, laid off 93 people in the spring. The company, which has about 10,000 employees, focuses on women's health at "all stages of her life journey. We focus on conditions that are unique to women, affect her disproportionately or impact her differently, including fertility and contraception, maternal health conditions, and vaginal health," the company says.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, based in Cranbury, announced in July that it would cut 80 positions by the end of 2025. The company researches "gene therapy cures for patients with devastating rare diseases ... to fulfill the promise of gene therapy for the betterment of our industry, science and humanity," the company website says.