Layoffs Mount In NJ As 2 More Major Companies Announce Job Cuts

Two major New Jersey healthcare and life science companies have announced a potential cut of nearly 150 jobs.

New Jersey State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications (WARN) were announced this week by Merck & Co.

The pharmaceutical company, headquartered in Rahway, plans to lay off 88 employees by Sept. 4, according to the WARN notice.

Additionally, Optum, a division of the UnitedHealth Care group, has also filed three separate notices.

Optum Select Management Inc., based in Somerset, announced 17 jobs on the chopping block.

Optum Care Inc., based in Rutherford, also announced five jobs to be cut.

And Optum Services Inc., based in Basking Ridge, said they plan to lay off 36 employees.

All three of the separate Optum cuts would take effect by Aug. 26.

This is the latest in a string of layoff announcements from Garden State employers.

Johnson & Johnson, the health and well-being product powerhouse, said in late May it planned 56 layoffs at their global headquarters in New Brunswick.

The business said they are moving away from its orthopedics business in its MedTech sector, therefore adjusting its workforce.

Prudential Insurance is following suit and dropping its employee count at its base in Newark by 53.

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN, requires employers with 100 or more employees to provide 60 days’ advance written notice of plant closings or mass layoffs.

New Jersey's unemployment rate sits at 4.8 percent, according to the latest available data. The national unemployment rate is at 4.3 percent.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.