Merck to eliminate 154 jobs at Durham vaccine plant

Merck will eliminate 154 jobs at its Durham, North Carolina, manufacturing complex after deciding to stop producing Gardasil and Gardasil 9 at the 5325 Old Oxford Road site, according to state notices and industry reporting. The company’s WARN notice names a global drop in demand as the reason for the action and schedules the layoffs to begin May 1, with the reductions expected to conclude within 14 days.

Industry filings and coverage show the head count breaks down to 147 employees at the Old Oxford Road facility and seven others who report to a different Durham address. Businessnc reported the cuts will also affect another 25 contingent workers. BioSpace published a compilation of the WARN filing on March 2, and a law firm page says Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC notified the North Carolina Department of Commerce on February 24.

Amanda Taylor, vice president of plant management in vaccine operations, wrote in the WARN letter that the decision to cease Gardasil production was made “because of the recent worldwide reduction in demand for the product,” a line quoted by FiercePharma from the notice. When contacted, a Merck spokesperson confirmed the layoffs and said the company “continuously assesses our operations and evolving business needs and adjusts as needed to ensure the effectiveness of our manufacturing network in delivering reliable, compliant supply of our medicines and vaccines,” language reported by FiercePharma and Businessnc.

The Durham moves underline rapid market shifts in the HPV vaccine business. Businessnc cited Fintool.com data showing Gardasil sales fell from $8.6 billion in 2024 to $5.2 billion in 2025, a 39 percent decline, and noted China sales plunged from $3.5 billion in 2024 to $193 million in 2025 after the entry of a lower-priced domestic competitor.

The facility at 5325 Old Oxford Road is part of a larger Merck campus in Durham that was originally built in 2005 on 258 acres. Merck completed a new, $1 billion, 225,000-square-foot HPV production facility in March 2025 that the company had said would create 400 jobs. Businessnc reported Merck declined to disclose the current total workforce at the Durham site and did not specify whether the new 2025 facility’s operations are affected by the shutdown at Old Oxford Road.

A local law firm, Straussborrelli, said MSD notified the state on February 24 and is investigating whether the company failed to provide the 60 days’ notice required under the federal WARN Act for a mass layoff, noting the firm’s inquiry focuses on the 147 employees named in some filings. The firm advised affected workers to contact them about potential legal remedies and provided a phone number and email: 872.263.1100 and sam@straussborrelli.com. The WARN Act can require employers to pay back pay and benefits for the period of noncompliance.

Key documents remain to be reviewed for full clarity: the actual WARN filing with the North Carolina Department of Commerce, any company communications to employees about severance or outplacement, and Merck’s financial filings to corroborate third-party sales figures. Merck’s consolidation of Gardasil production in response to shrinking demand highlights both the short-term workforce impact in Durham and broader market pressure on a product that generated multibillion-dollar revenue in recent years.