As Bristol Myers Squibb rolls ahead with its plan to cut $1.5 billion in costs by the end of the year, the drugmaker is once again pruning its workforce in the Garden State.

BMS will lay off 223 workers in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) alert filed with the state of New Jersey. The cuts will go into effect between May 22 and Aug. 1, according to the filing. The impacted workers have already been informed about BMS’ decision. 

In Lawrenceville, BMS hosts its corporate headquarters, as well as a facility for commercial and late-stage development work. 

The downsizing initiative is part of BMS’ broader effort to cut costs, a Bristol spokesperson told Fierce Pharma over email

Last year, BMS unveiled a plan to save $1.5 billion in costs by the end of 2025. All told, 2,000 employees are set to lose their jobs under that restructuring, BMS originally predicted. Many of those cuts have taken place in Lawrenceville specifically.

Early last month, meanwhile, Bristol execs announced on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call that the drugmaker plans to cut an additional $2 billion in costs by the end of 2027. That move will also include staff reductions, the company said at the time.

“We are optimizing operations across the company while prioritizing investments in innovative and transformational medicines where we can deliver the highest value for patients and shareholders,” BMS’ spokesperson said of the latest round of cuts.

“Unfortunately, there have been impacts to some of our employees as a result of these changes,” she continued, adding that the company is “grateful for the contributions of our colleagues and a top priority for us is supporting employees throughout the transition process.”

The spokesperson did not clarify whether the cuts will occur at BMS’ corporate headquarters or its Princeton Pike location in Lawrenceville for commercial and late-stage R&D functions.

The new round of layoffs, which were revealed at the tail-end of February, come after Bristol Myers disclosed a separate 67 U.S. job cuts toward the beginning of last month.