Job Cuts Spike In NJ: See Which Companies Are Preparing For Layoffs

NEW JERSEY — Fresh job cuts announced at New Jersey workplaces in April bring the total number of planned layoffs in the state to over 4,100 so far this year, state Department of Labor data shows.

Several major companies reported workforce reductions earlier in the year, including Walmart in Hoboken (481 employees), Novartis Pharmaceuticals in East Hanover (427 employees), and GEODIS Logistics in Monroe (334 employees). The announcement that JoAnn and Forever 21 would close all their stores prompted another 321 layoffs between the two retailers.

TD Bank is also eliminating 52 positions from its U.S. headquarters in Cherry Hill, taking place in phases through June.

This month, JPMorgan Chase has announced another 145 layoffs in its Jersey City office, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) advisory filed with the state. That's in addition to 121 layoffs posted in February.

The latest Chase job cuts are scheduled to go into effect by June 23.

Pharmaceutical company Reckitt Benckiser will have cut 190 jobs at its U.S. headquarters in Parsippany by Aug. 1, the WARN notices show. This producer of medicines, hygiene products, and baby formula also cut 100 jobs last spring. Evernorth, a subsidiary of healthcare provider Cigna, will also be cutting a total of 62 employees in Morris Plains by July.

Travel retailer Dufry by Avolta is cutting 80 positions in East Rutherford by July 7, per the WARN notice. And Whitsons Food Service, which is based in Edison, plans to have trimmed 66 jobs by Friday, April 18.

The most recent layoffs come as New Jersey businesses both large and small are monitoring the potential impact of President Trump's new China tariffs on their supply chain, along with the global import tariffs that are currently on pause. Five percent of New Jersey's global goods exports went to China in 2023, according to a U.S.-China Business Council report, for a total of $2.2 billion.

WARN Notices are required by federal law when businesses with 100 or more full-time workers lay off at least 50 people from a single worksite. They are designed to give workers and their families, as well as the local communities, more advanced notice.

The listings don't include the percentage of workers that each company cut, nor do they contain information on whether the businesses enacted smaller job cuts elsewhere in the state.