There have been over 40 rounds of layoffs announced this year as of April 30, compared to more than 50 in the last four months of 2025, according to one industry tracker.
At the beginning of the year at least one analyst predicted that industry reductions would trend downward in 2026. But similar optimism last year proved misplaced when job losses rose 16% year over year amid unanticipated market turbulence in the U.S., including tariff threats, most-favored-nation pricing proposals and continuing cost pressures from the Inflation Reduction Act.
So far, many of this year’s cuts were driven by familiar industry pressures, such as investigational drug failures, strategic reprioritizations and efforts to improve operational efficiency.
Planned and unplanned layoffs
BioNTech said in early May it will undergo a major restructuring as it pivots to oncology and declining sales of its COVID-19 vaccine. The company plans to downsize its manufacturing operations in Germany and Singapore, a move that will eliminate an estimated 1,860 jobs.
Earlier announcements also included Vistagen, which aims to reduce its workforce by about 20% to save money and focus on its lead candidate, a nasal spray for social anxiety disorder. The decision came after the drug failed a phase 3 trial last December. The candidate is now in the midst of another phase 3 trial.
Replimune, an oncology-focused biotech, also had two rounds of layoffs — 63 workers on April 13 and an additional 161 on April 17. The decision stemmed from a controversial FDA rejection of its melanoma drug, RP1. The agency declined to approve its drug in combination with nivolumab after a new review team took over the case and cited issues with its trial design. Replimune said that feedback from the new team contradicted earlier advice the company was given by the FDA. Despite the substantial downsizing, Replimune plans to forge ahead with an additional phase 2/3 drug candidate RP2, which is being tested in metastatic uveal melanoma and hepatocellular carcinoma.
While some layoffs were related to investigational drug issues, other companies, including Takeda Pharmaceuticals, carried out reductions in line with larger reorganization plans. Takeda is navigating a billion-dollar-plus restructuring effort and announced a 600-plus person workforce reduction that will affect staff in Massachusetts and other states. The goal of the changes, which won’t go into effect until July, is to increase efficiency and to redirect savings into R&D investments and upcoming drug launches.
Merck & Co. has also been streamlining and said it will reduce its global workforce by 8%. The large pharma is tightening its belt as it prepares for its mega-blockbuster Keytruda to move off patent. But its most recent round of job cuts in February came in response to slowing market demand for its human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil. As a result, Merck is scaling back manufacturing and cutting nearly 150 workers at its Durham, North Carolina, plant.
While many layoff drivers this year have been typical for the industry, eyes are still on other potential factors, including AI. So far, it’s too soon to say how big of an impact AI will have and some contend that it won’t encroach on jobs in pharma the same way it has in other industries like tech.
