Big Pharma Layoffs Surge in 2024 Amid Industry Challenges

2024 was a year marked by a significant increase in workforce layoffs, most notably for some of the major pharmaceutical companies. Bristol Myers Squibb announced plans to eliminate 2,200 jobs, primarily in the United States, whilst both Bayer and Pfizer each announced job cuts for 1,500 employees across various locations.

The increase in job cuts in the industry reflects broader industry challenges and financial pressures, resulting in companies taking the most drastic cost-saving measures. This is likely to be an ongoing challenge in 2025 as biopharma companies prioritize operational efficiency whilst balancing innovation and competitiveness in a rapidly changing healthcare landscape.

The following article originally appeared in Fierce Biotech.

Overall, biopharma layoffs rose ever so slightly in 2024 compared to the year before, though the number of layoff rounds across Big Pharma skyrocketed by 281%.

In 2024, Fierce Biotech reported 192 industry layoff rounds, which is 3% higher than in 2023, when 187 rounds were tallied. Rounds are reported as they are disclosed and are not combined per company for those implementing more than one workforce reduction in a year.

The most recent figure is a 63% jump from the 118 rounds counted in 2022.

While it's difficult to fully understand the human impact of layoffs, at least 15,134 people lost their jobs from the 86 companies reporting numbers last year, according to data from the Fierce Biotech Layoff Tracker. The remaining companies either reported layoffs as a percentage of the total workforce or didn’t share how many staff members would be laid off.

Of the 99 times that companies did provide a percentage of staff receiving pink slips, the average reduction size was 38%.

One stark difference between years is the growing presence of Big Pharma firms reporting layoffs. While the overall number of industry layoff rounds remained stable, the number of times large pharma companies handed out pink slips rose 281%.

In 2023, 11 layoff waves were reported at large pharmas, compared to 42 rounds in 2024, according to Fierce Biotech’s layoff trackers. Three Big Pharma shops—Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Bristol Myers Squibb—recorded multiple workforce reductions per year for both 2023 and 2024.

Of the 34 times large corporations disclosed the number of employees that would be laid off, 9,318 staffers were impacted.

Notably absent from the 2024 tracker are Ozempic- and Wegovy-seller Novo Nordisk, and Zepbound- and Mounjaro-maker Eli Lilly after the obesity market exploded in 2023.

For more, please find the original story source here.