Last month, biopharmas let go or projected they would let go of less than 500 people combined, based on BioSpace estimates, down almost 1,000 from January 2025. Still, competition for open jobs remains strong, with employed and unemployed biotech and pharma professionals eyeing their next roles.
In a potentially hopeful sign for the job market, fewer employees lost their jobs at the start of this year than at the beginning of 2025, based on BioSpace tallies.*
Last month, 11 biopharmas let go or projected they would let go of 463 employees. In January 2025, more than twice as many companies trimmed their workforces, and those cuts totaled 1,302 people. The number of employees affected by layoffs was even higher in January 2024.
It’s also worth noting that of the 463 employees that businesses let go or projected they would let go last month, more than half—243—were at one company: Takeda. Those cuts mainly involved the pharma’s neuroscience commercialization teams.
The year-over-year decrease in layoffs comes at a good time given that the job market has become increasingly competitive. In a survey late last year of 1,499 biotech and pharma professionals that informed the BioSpace 2026 U.S. Life Sciences Employment Outlook report, most respondents said they’ll actively look for jobs in 2026. Among employed/contract participants, 64% said they’ll do so, up from 59% who planned to explore their options in 2025. Among unemployed respondents, 96% said they’ll actively look in 2026, up slightly from 95% who planned to seek new roles last year.
Job posting activity on BioSpace in January reflects increased competition. Last month, there were 7,918 jobs live and 33,586 job applications, amounting to 4.2 applications per posting. There were 3.6 applications per posting in January 2025, when there were more jobs live (8,645) but fewer applications (30,768).
In good news for those seeking their next roles, many biopharmas plan to hire in 2026, based on the employment outlook report. In a survey late last year of 136 professionals with insight into talent acquisition and/or workforce planning activities, 64% of respondents were actively recruiting. That number was up from 59% in the 2024 survey. In addition, 41% of survey participants predicted that this year, their open roles will increase.
Top States for Biopharma Hiring
As to where the most hiring is happening so far in 2026, based on jobs live on BioSpace in January and the first week of February, the same states ranked in the top five. Last month, those states were New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, Illinois and Indiana. Competition for open spots was highest in California, at 5.6 applications per job posting. New Jersey followed close behind, at 5.3. Job seekers found the least competition in Indiana, where there were 1.8 applications per posting.
In the first week of February, the top five states for jobs live were Massachusetts (558), California (551), New Jersey (468), Illinois (388) and Indiana (373). Competition for open spots was highest in New Jersey, California and Massachusetts, at 3.3, 2.2 and 1.7 applications per job posting, respectively. It was lowest in Illinois (1.2) and Indiana (0.7).
Companies hiring in the top five states during the first week of February include:
- Massachusetts: AbbVie, Moderna and Syner-G BioPharma Group
- California: Amgen, Eli Lilly and GRAIL
- New Jersey: GenScript, Legend Biotech and Tris Pharma
- Illinois: Amgen, AbbVie and Lundbeck
- Indiana: AbbVie, Amgen and Eli Lilly
While it did not land in the top five for January or the first week of February, North Carolina grabbed job-creation headlines last month. Johnson & Johnson announced it expects to add 500 positions at a new drug product manufacturing facility in Wilson. The production plant will focus on delivering oncology and neurological disease treatments. Johnson & Johnson did not say when the location will open.
In addition, Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced last month that it’s increasing its investment in a drug manufacturing plant in Holly Springs, North Carolina, creating about 100 jobs there. That brings the expected employment at that location to more than 500. The plant should be operational in 2029, according to Genentech.
In other job-creation news that broke in January, Eli Lilly announced it will build a manufacturing facility for injectable weight-loss therapies in Pennsylvania that should employ around 850 people. The company hopes the site will be operational in 2031.
*Layoff numbers exclude contract development and manufacturing organizations, contract research organizations, tools and services businesses and medical device firms. To tally the cuts, BioSpace compiles data for known workforce reductions. The number of employees affected is identified or estimated primarily through information in company press releases, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices, SEC filings and other media outlets’ reports or via confirmation from company officials.
Not all companies disclose downsizing, and some share only the percentage of staff affected. Some biopharmas provide total numbers retrospectively rather than disclosing individual workforce reductions as they happen.
