Pfizer to shutter North Jersey campus; nearly 800 jobs affected

PEAPACK, N.J. - Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer plans to shutter a campus in northern New Jersey, impacting nearly 800 jobs, according to the state's labor department.

The company plans to close its Peapack campus in Somerset County by February 2024, according to a statement given to healthcare news website Fierce Pharma.

Pfizer has faced slumping sales this year, with sales of its COVID-19 vaccine and its coronavirus treatment weaker than it had expected in 2023. Pfizer Inc. now foresees 2023 revenue in a range of $58 billion to $61 billion, down from its prior forecast for $67 billion to $70 billion, according to the Associated Press.

Earlier this month, the company announced a sweeping $3.5 billion cost-cutting initiative due to this weakened demand. It is unclear how cost-cutting measures will affect Pfizer's 83,000 jobs worldwide.

According to Fierce Pharma, Pfizer says a "vast majority" of Peapack workers will be relocated to the company's New York City headquarters, while some will be reassigned to work at the company's Parsippany, New Jersey, site.

The data, posted on the New Jersey department of state website, as a WARN notice, a posting alerting the state to an adjustment in the state workforce.

The nearly 150 acres was made for an expanding workforce, but at the height of COVID, sometimes only 50 to 100 people were on campus, we are told.

It comes as Pfizer downsizes other large plants around the country.

The Mayor in Peapack, Gladstone told FOX 5 NY's Teresa Priolo that they will transfer hands at the end of February.

With it comes a massive hit to the local tax base. Pfizer pays over 1.5 million in taxes annually which is 9% of the local tax base.

Right now the campus is only zoned for corporate use. 

There’s hope that it may be rezoned in the future to meet the changing needs of New Jersey residents.