Hundreds In NJ Received Layoff Notices In October: See Which Companies

Nearly 900 more employees in New Jersey were notified in October that their jobs are being eliminated by their companies, according to state records.

That brings the total layoffs announced by larger companies to nearly 14,700 through Nov. 2, according to notices submitted to the New Jersey Department of Labor.

While some companies continue to shed jobs, overall New Jersey's unemployment rate decreased in September, to 4.2 percent, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is the fifth straight month the unemployment rate has decreased. New Jersey's unemployment rate was 4.8 percent in April.

The federal estimates indicate that New Jersey payrolls increased by 14,900 over the month, resulting in a seasonally adjusted employment level of 4,377,400 jobs. The state’s unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in August, the state Department of Labor said.

In September, six out of nine private industry sectors recorded employment gains, the state labor department said. Private education and health services added more than 7,200 jobs, professional and business services added 7,100, leisure and hospitality added 5,500, manufacturing added 1,000, other services added 1,000, and construction added 500.

Sectors that recorded job losses include trade, transportation, and utilities, down 5,100, information, down 1,100, and financial activities, down 100. The public sector recorded a loss of 1,100 jobs for the month, state officials said.

The October layoff notices under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act include 119 positions being cut by Comcast across nine counties, and 113 being eliminated by Conduent, which manages government benefits programs.

Mars Information Services, part of the Mars Wrigley candy company, is laying off 55 people by Jan. 31 after it cut more than 300 jobs in layoffs completed in mid-October.

Also announcing layoffs in October were Teva Pharmaceuticals, which plans to eliminate 61 jobs at its Fairfield location by the beginning of February, and The Food Kitchen of Hackensack, which plans to cut 89 jobs as of Jan. 3.

The layoffs are 8.7 percent above what they were in October 2025, with 14,651 so far, compared with 13,548 through the same period last year.

The most current figures also reflect the withdrawal of three WARN notices issued earlier this year.

O.C.E.A.N. Inc, which assists families in need with a variety of programs to help them achieve self-sufficiency, withdrew its WARN notice submitted in March that would have eliminated 79 jobs that were threatened by federal funding cuts.

The Lakewood Township Schools withdrew an April notice that said the district expected to lay off 164 staff members amid the district's financial struggles.

And Bayonne University Hospital withdrew its notice that 967 positions were to be eliminated in its facility.

Under state and federal law, employers with more than 100 employees must file advance notice of mass layoffs affecting 50 people or more under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. New Jersey additionally requires companies to provide severance to the employees being laid off.