Massachusetts
Massachusetts’ life sciences jobs declined 1% in 2025, according to a new MassBioEd report. However, the report is projecting industry employment will increase 9.7% by 2030. It also noted reskilling needs for some roles, including scientists.
Seventeen life sciences businesses awarded Massachusetts tax incentives to add and retain 426 combined jobs hit 10% of that target as of Dec. 31. Three companies, including Novartis, had reported layoffs either last year or this year.
Far fewer companies are letting employees go so far in 2026 compared to 2025, but the number of people affected is trending up, especially this month, according to BioSpace tallies.
While average job postings live on BioSpace have increased year over year for nearly every month of 2026, the number of employees affected by made or planned layoffs by the end of that same period nearly matched what was seen in 2025.
Opportunities increased by the end of the first quarter, according to BioSpace data.
Six biotechs based in California, Massachusetts, Washington and Denmark had to halt drug development efforts this year. One of their CEOs is now in an interim chief executive role at another biotech.
Replimune is axing 144 employees at its Woburn headquarters and 80 at its Framingham manufacturing site. The cuts follow the FDA’s second rejection of the biotech’s advanced melanoma candidate.
The trend of fewer companies letting employees go, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, has continued. However, more employees were on the chopping block in Q1 2026 than in Q1 2025, due mainly to one company’s cuts.
Of the 11 companies participating in the spring cohorts of the Drive program run by MassBio and SCbio, eight have locations in Massachusetts. One cohort focuses on biotech and the other on biomarkers and diagnostics.
Takeda’s layoffs include cutting 247 people in Massachusetts. The workforce reduction is meant to help offset investments in areas including a product launch for oral drug candidate zasocitinib, for which the pharma today announced positive Phase 3 data.
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