Merck KGaA's North American division, EMD Serono, has laid off 20 staffers at its Billerica, Massachusetts research site in 2026, as part of a restructuring and reduction of its U.S. research team following a renewed in-office work requirement that could affect up to 70 additional employees by September 2026.
The layoffs at the Billerica site are described as affecting a small number of roles and are tied to optimizing EMD Serono's R&D setup and future needs, contributing to ongoing industry-wide downsizing of biotech research teams.
These latest cuts follow prior reductions at Merck KGaA's U.S. operations, including a 2023 downsizing of 133 employees at the same Billerica campus and earlier layoffs in Durham, North Carolina, linked to integration of its acquisition of SpringWorks Therapeutics.
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