Merck to cut roughly 150 jobs at Durham Gardasil plant amid sales slump

Merck filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification this week signaling cuts at its Durham, North Carolina, vaccine manufacturing operations that produce the Gardasil human papillomavirus vaccine, with reported job losses ranging from 147 to 154 and most outlets calling the total roughly 150.

The head-count figures vary by source. A WARN filing cited by FiercePharma lists 147 positions. The News & Observer reported that a Feb. 24 WARN letter to the North Carolina Department of Commerce and Durham County put the total at 154. Reuters, Bloomberg and Yahoo Finance described the reduction as about 150 and said the notice appears in the state’s WARN database. The differing totals suggest either multiple filings or an adjustment to the submission; the state records and the Feb. 24 letter are the primary documents that will resolve the discrepancy.

Merck and outside analysts link the move to weakening global demand for Gardasil. Reuters reported that the company halted shipments of the vaccine to China last year and that Gardasil’s global sales fell 39 percent in 2025. Reuters also noted that Merck’s management said last month that Gardasil was no longer a key growth driver for the company. A company spokesperson told Reuters, “We continuously assess our operations and evolving business needs and adjust as needed to ensure the effectiveness of our manufacturing network in delivering reliable, compliant supply of our medicines and vaccines.”

The Durham facility is a significant production site for Gardasil, and a reduction in manufacturing head count underscores how persistent demand declines are forcing operational adjustments inside large vaccine makers. For Merck, which had previously relied on Gardasil as a high-margin growth product, the sales drop and the suspension of shipments to a major market such as China reduce the commercial justification for maintaining current production capacity.

Local officials were specifically notified, according to the News & Observer report, which said the Feb. 24 letter was addressed to the state commerce department and Durham County. The WARN process requires employers to notify state and local authorities ahead of mass layoffs, triggering access to workforce services and retraining resources for affected employees. The scale of the layoffs - in the mid-hundreds at most - will be noticeable in the context of a single manufacturing site in Durham but is unlikely to materially shift Merck’s broader global head count.

Market implications extend beyond the plant. A sustained decline in Gardasil demand reshapes Merck’s revenue mix and could dampen investor expectations for vaccine-driven growth, while prompting a re-evaluation of capacity allocation across its manufacturing network. Industry competitors and contract manufacturers may see opportunities if Merck scales back internal output.

Key questions remain: whether the differing tallies reflect multiple filings or an amendment, which roles and shifts are affected, and what severance or retraining programs Merck will offer. Company and state WARN filings will be the definitive sources for those details.