Laid off from Johnson & Johnson.
Johnson & Johnson's 2026 layoffs reach the record as two New Jersey notices listing New Brunswick, each under a hundred jobs, while its far larger restructurings appear in filings only as dollars and exits. For New Jersey staff, state law and J&J's own benefit sheet spell out terms you can check.
At a glance
What's known about Johnson & Johnson severance and layoffs
- 54 · All-time WARN filings, our tracker
- 2, covering 95 jobs · Filings since 2025, our tracker
- 87 jobs in New Brunswick, posted September 2026 · Newest notice on New Jersey's list
- About $1.0 billion · Orthopedics restructuring total, per the 2026 10-Q
- Estimated $650 million to $750 million, through 2029 · Supply chain program opened in 2026
- One week of pay per full year · Statutory severance in a covered New Jersey mass layoff
- About 138,200 · Employees company-wide, end of 2025
Recent Johnson & Johnson layoffs
Johnson & Johnson Services posts an 87-job New Brunswick notice for December
New Jersey's WARN list shows a Johnson & Johnson Services Inc notice posted in September 2026 for 87 workers in New Brunswick, effective December 18, 2026. It follows a May notice from the same city that the state lists at 86. No reason for the September notice is on record.
Previous rounds
Johnson & Johnson layoff history
Johnson & Johnson's 2026 cuts have come in New Jersey notices of under a hundred jobs each, both listed under New Brunswick, where the company has its headquarters. The state's WARN list shows a notice posted in May covering 86 workers, effective August 21, and one in September from Johnson & Johnson Services Inc covering 87 more, effective December 18. At filing, the May notice was reported at 56 positions, mostly in New Brunswick with some in Raritan, Somerville and Titusville, and nothing on record reconciles the two numbers. A company spokesperson tied that round to the planned orthopedics separation and to what the statement called stranded costs. The September notice has no reason on record, and a 231-job round set for December 27, 2024 came with only a general statement.
Our tracker counts 54 filings from J&J's units all time, and 2 filings covering 95 jobs since the start of 2025, a tally that hasn't picked up the September notice. It includes units J&J owns today, such as Janssen, Ethicon, DePuy Synthes and Auris Health, and leaves out the consumer side, which J&J's filings show departing through Kenvue's May 2023 IPO and an August 2023 exchange offer. Year-end counts compiled from J&J's annual reports went from 152,700 employees in December 2022 to 131,900 twelve months later, then 138,100 by December 2024 and 138,200 by December 2025. Nothing we track says how much of that 2023 drop came from the consumer business leaving.
The big restructurings show up in dollars instead. The orthopedics program begun in 2023 exits certain markets, product lines and distribution arrangements, and J&J's 10-Q for the 2026 second quarter put its total near $1.0 billion. A 2025 Surgery program drops non-strategic product lines and optimizes select sites, estimated at $0.6 billion to $0.7 billion. In that same quarter J&J opened a third, mostly in Innovative Medicine, to exit certain manufacturing locations, expected to be substantially done by the end of 2029 at an estimated $650 million to $750 million, and booked $200 million on it, mostly asset impairments. The filing gives none of the three a site or a headcount, so no notice here maps to one beyond the link J&J drew itself for May 2026.
If you work in orthopedics, two possible transactions for your unit are on record. J&J said in October 2025 it expected DePuy Synthes to become a separate company within 18 to 24 months, and in May 2026 NJBIZ, citing Reuters, reported that J&J was also exploring a sale that could top $20 billion. Neither is recorded as completed in the reporting we track. While that stays unsettled, keep your own copies of your offer letter and benefit summaries.
If your separation is part of a New Jersey mass layoff, which the statute defines as 50 or more employees at or reporting to an establishment in any 30-day stretch, you're owed a week's pay per completed year of service, calculated on your final rate or on your three-year average if that's higher, and four more weeks if your notice ran short of 90 days. Where J&J's own severance comes out larger, the law says the larger figure applies, and a waiver of the state amount holds only if New Jersey's labor commissioner or a judge approves it. J&J's January 2024 benefit sheet describes the New Jersey piece as a lump sum Statutory Severance Pay followed by Enhanced Severance payments, so look for both in your separation paperwork.
Two dates from that sheet are easy to miss. A medical, dental or vision plan you're not enrolled in on your separation date can't be added later, and term life converts to an individual policy only within 31 days after coverage ends. The sheet also says the plan documents win wherever they differ from it. In 2024, J&J's statement on the 231-job round offered help exploring other roles inside the company, so ask HR whether that applies to your notice.
Reporting on previous Johnson & Johnson layoff rounds
September 2026, 87 jobs in New Brunswick · A Johnson & Johnson Services Inc notice for 87 workers, effective December 18, 2026, on New Jersey's own list
May 2026, New Brunswick and three other New Jersey sites · On New Jersey's list at 86 workers, effective August 21, 2026. Reported at filing as 56 positions, mainly in New Brunswick with some in Raritan, Somerville and Titusville, and tied by a spokesperson to the planned orthopedics separation
January 2025, 9 jobs in California · One California filing dated January 27, 2025 listed 9 jobs, the only one outside New Jersey that our tracker holds from 2025 on
Late 2024, 231 jobs · A reported layoff of 231 employees, set for December 27, 2024. Reporting at the time said it was unclear which part of the company it would hit
Terms not published. J&J said it would help affected employees explore new options within the company and give them access to career services.
March 2023, about 350 robotics jobs in California · Around 350 layoffs at the Auris Health and Verb Surgical robotic surgery units, 292 at Auris, 47 at Verb and 13 from four other businesses, set to be done by late April
What to do after being laid off from Johnson & Johnson
- File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. Johnson & Johnson's biggest hubs: New Jersey, California. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
- Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what Johnson & Johnson's hub states run: New Jersey, California, and every other state is here.
- Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
- Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
- Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.
Johnson & Johnson layoff and severance questions
Is Johnson & Johnson laying off employees in 2026?
Yes, through two New Jersey notices that list New Brunswick. The May notice, which a spokesperson linked to the planned orthopedics separation, is on the state's list at 86 workers, effective August 21, and was reported at 56 when filed. The September notice, from Johnson & Johnson Services Inc, covers 87 workers, effective December 18, with no reason on record.
How much severance does Johnson & Johnson give laid-off employees?
Nothing specific to a round is on record. A December 2023 post by a Morristown, New Jersey financial advisory firm, citing the SEC, put the schedule at two weeks' base pay for every year worked, six weeks at minimum, when you sign the severance agreement, and four weeks when you don't, with other limits applying. It's a secondhand summary, so compare it with the paperwork HR hands you. In a New Jersey mass layoff, state law sets its own floor of one week per full year.
How long does health insurance last after a Johnson & Johnson layoff?
J&J's January 2024 benefit sheet for US non-union separations tied coverage to a Benefit End Date, the earliest of four dates, your last day of severance pay, one year after separation, the day you lose eligibility, or the day you drop coverage. Until then the company kept subsidizing medical, dental and vision as it did for active staff, and those months counted toward COBRA's 18-month continuation period. After that, COBRA cost 102% of the full premium, with enrollment generally due within 60 days of the Benefit End Date.
Why is Johnson & Johnson cutting jobs in New Brunswick?
Only the May 2026 notice comes with a reason attached. A spokesperson said those reductions related to the planned divestiture of the orthopedics business, which J&J announced in October 2025, and the statement talked about addressing stranded costs and improving operating margins as the separation progressed. The 2024 statement stayed general, and nothing is on record for the September 2026 notice.
Do Kenvue layoffs count as Johnson & Johnson layoffs?
Not on this page. The consumer health business went public as Kenvue on May 8, 2023, most of J&J's remaining stake went out in an exchange offer on August 23, 2023, and J&J held no Kenvue shares after May 2024. Our tracker counts no filings by Kenvue or by the consumer units that turned into it. Kenvue's shareholders approved a $48.7 billion sale to Kimberly-Clark in January 2026.
Where do I file for unemployment after being laid off from Johnson & Johnson?
In the state where you worked, not where the company is headquartered. Johnson & Johnson's biggest U.S. hubs are New Jersey, California. Severance usually doesn't block you from filing, and benefits run from your filing date, so file the same week.
Is it OK to file for unemployment after a layoff at Johnson & Johnson?
Yes. Unemployment insurance is funded by payroll taxes employers pay on wages, the claim never appears on credit reports or background checks, and future employers cannot see it. If the hesitation itself is the obstacle, whether filing is OK has its own article.
What happens to my health insurance after a layoff at Johnson & Johnson?
Your plan sets the end date rather than the law, so the separation packet is where that date actually lives, and it is often the last day of the month rather than your last day of work. After coverage ends, COBRA lets you keep the identical plan by paying the whole premium yourself, up to 102 percent of what the plan really costs, which lands as several times the payroll deduction you were used to. You get 60 days to elect, counted from the later of coverage ending or the election notice arriving, and electing reaches the coverage back to the day the old plan stopped so no gap exists. How continuation coverage works walks the timing, and whether to take it rather than a marketplace plan is a separate decision.
Should I sign the severance agreement right away?
First pin down how much review time you actually have. If you're 40 or older, federal law gives you 21 days to consider an agreement that waives age claims, 45 in a group layoff, and a waiver signed under a shorter deadline can be invalid. If you're under 40, no federal window applies and the deadline in your packet may be real, so confirm it in writing and ask for more time if you need it. Use whatever window you have to read the release terms, especially non-disparagement and no-lawsuit clauses, and don't stall past a real deadline, because offers can be withdrawn.
Can I collect unemployment if I got severance from Johnson & Johnson?
Usually yes, though some states delay benefits until severance pay periods end, and lump sums are treated differently than salary continuation. Check your state's rules on our state benefit pages, and file immediately either way so your claim date is locked in.