Bristol Myers Squibb Puts More Than 800 Jobs On Chopping Block In NJ

PRINCETON, NJ — Pharma giant Bristol Myers Squibb will be laying off around 863 employees in its Mercer County office, according to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) alert from NJ.

The jobs cut will "drive approximately $1.5 billion in cost savings by the end of 2025, the majority of which will be reinvested to fund innovation and drive growth," a company spokesperson said.

According to the two WARN notices in May, the staff reduction will happen at its Lawrenceville locations. BMS has two listed locations for Lawrenceville – Route 206 and Princeton Pike.

The two NJ WARN notice entries are related to the Strategic Productivity Initiative announced during the company's Q1 2024 Earnings Call in April, the spokesperson said.

“Impacted employees covered by these two WARN entries have been notified,” the spokesperson said. "The effective dates listed on the WARN notice page reflect final dates of employment.”

The company said it will be focusing resources on R&D programs, prioritizing investing in key growth brands; and optimizing operations across the organization.

“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.

BMS did not specify what roles have been put on the chopping block. The Rt. 206 location is an early discovery site, with laboratories, offices and support services. Here, scientists discover and develop medicines in the areas of cancer, immunology, cardiovascular and fibrotic diseases.

Meanwhile, the Princeton Pike site houses employees from the commercial teams, their commercialization and late-stage development partners from Research & Development and Global Product Development & Supply, the company website says.

According to the WARN notice the layoffs will begin on June 28 and continue through the year.

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