Unilever to eliminate 149 jobs in New Jersey

Unilever will slash 149 positions from its New Jersey operations during the next 13 months as part of a global productivity program.

In a statement, Unilever said impacted employees will have the opportunity to apply for open positions within the company, receive severance pay, and access outplacement services and development training.

The job cuts are part of Unilever’s broader Growth Action Plan (GAP), which focuses on simplifying the business and driving growth by restructuring its operations. One of the major components of the GAP involves separating the company’s €7.9 billion ice cream division, home to brands like Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum, into a standalone entity by the end of 2025. The company’s US headquarters will remain in New Jersey, moving from Englewood Cliffs to a new location in Hoboken beginning March 2025.

Unilever is one the largest fast-moving consumer goods companies in the world, with operations in homecare, personal care and food. Some of its best known brands include Axe, Cif Dove, Lifebuoy and Lux.

===Editas Medicine lays off 65% of staff and shelves lead gene-editing program

Editas Medicine will lay off 180 employees, or about two-thirds of its workforce, over the next six months as part of a broader pivot to focus its drug research on “in vivo” gene editing, the biotechnology company said Thursday.6

• In October, Editas revealed plans to change course, announcing that it would seek to license out its lead CRISPR medicine for sickle cell disease. That search did not identify a commercial partner, Editas said, leading to the company’s decision to end development of the therapy.
• Among those departing the company is Baisong Mei, the company’s chief medical officer. Two members of the board of directors will also resign at the end of the year.

Editas Medicine said Thursday afternoon it will lay off 65% of its staff — around 180 employees — as it shelves its lead gene-editing program for sickle cell disease and shifts focus. 

The cuts come amid a prolonged financial downturn for the gene-editing field, as valuations have plummeted and layoffs have become widespread. Editas already laid off staff as part of a restructuring in 2023. Its stock has fallen 81% this year. 

Editas launched with immense fanfare a decade ago, as one of the first three companies founded around the promise of CRISPR genome editing. But it struggled on execution, choosing to go after hard-to-reach diseases, and it saw significant turnover as early programs failed or stagnated. 

Ford to cut 4,000 jobs in Europe

Ford plans to cut almost 4,000 jobs in Europe over the next three years, about 14% of its workforce in the region, as the carmaker faces slowing demand for electric vehicles and rising competition from China.

• The reductions — which amount to about 14% of Ford Europe’s workforce — will primarily hit operations in Germany and the UK by the end of 2027, pending consultations with unions and governments. 
• he automaker also announced Wednesday it will reduce production of Explorer and Capri EVs at its complex in Cologne, Germany.
  

The US company said Wednesday that the cuts would be completed by the end of 2027, pending consultations with labor unions, and would be concentrated in Germany and the United Kingdom.

“The global auto industry continues to be in a period of disruption, especially in Europe, where the industry faces unprecedented competitive, regulatory and economic headwinds,” Ford said in a statement.

Dave Johnston, Ford’s European vice-president for transformation and partnerships, added: “It is critical to take difficult but decisive action to ensure Ford’s future competitiveness in Europe.”

Global automakers are under pressure from lackluster sales and intense competition from China, where EV makers are stealing market share from Western rivals, which have traditionally dominated the world’s largest passenger car market.

Ford’s passenger vehicle business has incurred significant losses in Europe in recent years. Like other carmakers, it has had to cut prices for its EVs, which have been badly loss-making, and it has scaled back EV production targets.

Marriott to lay off hundreds in Bethesda

Bethesda, Maryland-based Marriott International has reportedly told staffers its restructuring plans mean there will be hundreds of layoffs.

That includes hundreds of people in the D.C. area.

Maryland’s WARN (Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notice went up on Nov. 14. According to the listing, 833 people are slated to lose their jobs in January 2025.

Marriott is a leading private sector employer in Montgomery County, where it’s been headquartered for more than 60 years.

Layoffs are not new for Marriott.

In 2020, it permanently laid off 673 of the roughly 4,000 workers at its Bethesda HQ.

Roughly two years later, it opened a new headquarters in Bethesda — the $600 million development was named the Maryland Economic Development Project of the Year by the Maryland Economic Development Association.