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.