Listen to this articleThe basics:
- Novartis to eliminate dozens of NJ jobs between November 2025–June 2026
- Cuts follow two earlier rounds this year impacting 566 workers
- Part of global restructuring to streamline and save $1B annually
- Company also investing $23B in US facilities, workforce growth
As part of a multiyear global restructuring initiative, Novartis is planning another round layoffs at its U.S. headquarters in New Jersey.
In a filing with the state Department of Labor & Workforce Development, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant reported it will eliminate 58 positions at its East Hanover base between November 2025 and June 2026.
The planned reductions come on the heels of two separate waves of cuts this year that affected 566 jobs.
Commenting on the latest downsizing efforts, a company spokesperson said, “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. 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.
“As part of this, our U.S. Medical Affairs organization has been evaluating opportunities to enhance processes, increase efficiencies, and ensure we are investing our time and resources into the areas where we can have the greatest impact. To that end, we are making some organizational changes that result in a variety of roles being eliminated, modified and created,” the media representative said.
“We are committed to treating our people with fairness and respect and encourage affected employees to apply for open positions in other areas of our business,” the spokesperson added.
Changing course
Novartis announced a new organizational structure announced in 2022. Under that plan, the company aims to streamline operations, sharpen R&D focus and improve efficiency.
According to Novartis, the changes should save at least $1 billion, as well as guarantee sales growth of at least 4% until 2025.
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 spokesperson
The company has said it expects to phase out approximately 8,000 positions – about 7% of Novartis’ workforce. The broader shake-up affected nearly 400 employees in East Hanover between 2022 and 2023.
Under the plan, Novartis combined its pharmaceuticals and oncology business units into two separate commercial organizations with a stronger geographic focus:
- Innovative Medicines U.S.
- Innovative Medicines International
As a pure-play innovative medicines business, Novartis now has four core therapeutic areas:
- Cardiovascular-renal-metabolic
- Immunology
- Neuroscience
- Oncology
Domestic investments
While Novartis continues restructuring globally, it is also investing $23 billion over the next five years to expand its manufacturing, research and technology presence in the U.S. According to Novartis, the increased capacity will enable production of 100% of its key medicines end-to-end domestically.
By the numbers
- Novartis will invest $23 billion over the next five years to expand its presence in the U.S.
- The company plans to add 10 new facilities and create more than 5,000 new positions.
The company plans to add 10 new facilities and create more than 1,000 new positions for skilled workers, such as scientists and engineers, along with an additional 4,000 jobs for support staff and construction overall.
When Novartis announced the campaign last spring, CEO Vas Narasimhan said, “As a Swiss-based company with a significant presence in the U.S., these investments will enable us to fully bring our supply chain and key technology platforms into the U.S. to support our strong U.S. growth outlook. These investments also reflect the pro-innovation policy and regulatory environment in the U.S. that supports our ability to find the next medical breakthroughs for patients. We are prepared for shifts in the external environment and fully confident in our 2025 guidance, mid- to long-term sales growth outlook and 2027 core margin guidance of 40%+.”
Novartis joins a growing number of New Jersey pharma companies that announced multiyear investments aimed at strengthening U.S. manufacturing footprints amid renewed threats of import tariffs on pharmaceuticals from the Trump administration:
