New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. sent a notice to the state that it will lay off 54 workers at its Rahway location. Along with 88 jobs cut earlier this year, the employer is now up to 142 New Jersey jobs cut in 2026 alone.
This most recent round of layoffs will take effect in two phases: December 11, 2026 and January 4, 2027.
What’s Driving the Layoffs
It’s all a part of a broader initiative announced by the company last year to cut $3 billion in costs by 2027. According to Merck & Co. at the time, savings would go toward supporting the development of new products.
The announced layoffs come less than a month after Merck ranked as the ninth best company to work for in New Jersey on Forbes’ America’s Best Employers by State list. The timing creates an unusual tension—the same company laying off over 100 of its New Jersey employees this year is also one of the best to work for in the state.
We’re already in the final months of 2026, and with a $3 billion cost-cutting plan running through 2027, Merck & Co. has not yet indicated whether they are done with layoffs.
Whether more notices are filed with the state remains to be seen.
Lifelong Jersey resident and Rutgers and FDU alumnus, Tom La Vecchia is publisher of New Jersey Digest, one of the state’s leading lifestyle media brands. When he’s not growing the Digest, he’s raising four kids, wrangling four cats and pretending it’s all under control. His mission: keep Jersey interesting and impossible to ignore.
