Layoff guide · Bristol Myers Squibb · 2026
Bristol Myers Squibb has filed three New Jersey WARN notices in 2026 covering 718 positions, with separations running into May 2027. The severance is a lump sum, most unvested stock is forfeited, and signing the release unlocks both. Here’s the order to take it in.
Educational resource Updated November 4, 2026
Step 1
Four numbers give you the severance, the tax it will likely leave unpaid, and your deadlines.
26 weeks × $2,885 a week
Add your last day to see your personal deadlines.
Grade formulas come from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Severance Benefits Plan filed with the SEC in 2025; partial years round up. The formula for grades below 200 isn’t public, so use your letter. The tax estimate uses 2026 federal brackets and the standard deduction, and assumes nine months of salary this year. An educational estimate, not tax advice; confirm with your financial professional. Nothing you enter is saved or sent.
Step 2
Hypothetical. A senior leader, 52, married, at grade 200 with 10 years and 4 months of service, earning $260,000 base. Last day: December 17, 2026.
| Severance: 52 weeks of base pay | $260,000 |
|---|---|
| Federal tax withheld at 22% | −$57,200 |
| Federal tax actually owed on it, at a 24% top bracketPaid in early 2027, when the spouse’s $90,000 is the household’s only other income | −$55,028 |
| Withholding covers it, with some to spare | +$2,172 |
| RSUs kept if the release is signedA prorated share of the next vest | $37,500 |
| Unvested RSUs forfeited | $112,500 |
Ask HR the checklist questions and send the release to an employment attorney. Signing unlocks the $260,000 and the prorated stock; the release has to take effect by February 15, 2027.
Compare BMS’s subsidized COBRA, at the active-employee rate for up to 52 weeks, with the spouse’s plan.
The lump sum arrives. With only the spouse’s income alongside it, the top federal bracket is 24%, so 22% withholding comes close. Set aside New Jersey tax separately.
The severance stacks on top of new pay. Raise withholding at the new employer before the second half of the year.
Check how the Benefit Equalization Plan pays out. It can’t be rolled into an IRA, and a lump sum in 2027 would stack on the severance.
Confirm the 2026 annual company contribution posts to the 401(k), then decide whether to keep the plan or roll it to an IRA.
Step 3
Handle what can’t be undone first. The retirement accounts can wait, as long as you don’t cash them out.
If you’re 40 or older and part of a group layoff, federal law generally gives you at least 45 days to consider a release and 7 days to revoke it, plus a list of the ages and job titles of who was and wasn’t selected.
BMS’s severance plan requires the release to be effective and irrevocable by the 60th day after termination. Miss it and the severance is forfeited, along with the prorated stock.
BMS’s plan subsidizes COBRA at the active-employee rate through the severance period, starting the month after your last day. You still have to elect it.
The check is withheld at a flat 22%. It’s taxed in the year it’s paid, which for a late-year last day is often the following year.
If the plan offsets an unpaid loan when you leave, rolling that amount into an IRA by your tax-return due date, including extensions, avoids the tax.
Step 4
Your decision: Whether to sign within the window. The formula for grades below 200 isn’t public, so your letter controls. Pay in lieu of WARN notice is subtracted from cash severance.
SourceYour decision: Find out exactly which tranches you keep before you sign, and whether a retirement rule gives you better treatment than the layoff rule.
SourceYour decision: Confirm you’ll get this year’s annual contribution and that everything is vested, then keep the plan, roll it to an IRA, or both.
SourceYour decision: There’s no BMS pension to choose about now. If you have a Benefit Equalization Plan balance, learn when and how it pays out; it can’t be rolled into an IRA.
SourceStep 5
It unlocks the lump sum, the subsidized COBRA and the prorated stock.
It must be effective within 60 days of your last day. After that, the severance and the prorated stock are gone.
Most unvested RSUs end with the layoff. Know what’s left.
Don’t count on unvested shares in your plans unless HR confirms you keep them.
No pension decision at BMS, but the 401(k) and any deferred pay need a plan.
Deferred pay can’t be rolled into an IRA. A lump sum the same year as the severance raises the tax on both.
When the check lands decides how much of it you keep.
Step 6
Print it, bring it, and get the answers in writing.
Questions for BMS HR before you sign
From wealthplannerpro.ai · Educational information, not legal or tax advice.
| State | Positions | Entity and site | Posted | Separations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 247 | Bristol Myers SquibbLawrence Township | February 2026 | In stages from May 21 through December 31, 2026New Jersey Department of Labor, 2026 WARN list |
| New Jersey | 206 | Bristol Myers SquibbLawrence Township | April 2026 | July 16 through December 31, 2026New Jersey Department of Labor, 2026 WARN list |
| New Jersey | 265 | Bristol Myers SquibbPrinceton | September 2026 | December 17, 2026 through May 21, 2027New Jersey Department of Labor, 2026 WARN list |
New Jersey publishes the month a notice was posted, not the exact date. A notice states what was planned; final numbers can differ. Checked November 4, 2026.
BMS filed three New Jersey WARN notices in 2026 covering 718 positions: 247 in Lawrence Township (February), 206 in Lawrence Township (April) and 265 in Princeton (September), with separations from May 2026 through May 2027.
Under the severance plan BMS filed with the SEC, grades 200 and 210 receive 3 weeks of base pay per year of service with a 52-week minimum and 56-week maximum, and grade 220 and above receive 104 weeks. The formula for lower grades isn’t public; your letter states your amount.
Mostly. BMS’s 2026 award terms vest a prorated portion of the next tranche after an involuntary termination not for cause, and only if you sign a release that takes effect within 60 days. The rest is forfeited unless retirement terms apply.
As a lump sum after the release takes effect, and no later than March 15 of the year after you leave. A late-year last day often means the money is taxed the following year.
BMS documents describe it as age plus years of service of at least 70 at an involuntary termination. It can change how awards and some benefits are treated, so ask HR whether it applies to you.
No. BMS froze its U.S. pension in 2009 and terminated it in 2019, paying lump sums or moving benefits to annuities with Athene. If you have a remaining annuity, it’s with Athene.
The annual additional contribution generally requires employment on the last business day of the year. The plan’s annual reports describe exceptions, including some involuntary terminations late in the year. Ask HR for your case.
WealthPlannerPro and Morrowgate Private Wealth are not affiliated with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. This guide uses public filings; your own plan documents, award agreements and separation agreement control.
Educational resource only. This guide explains how layoff benefits generally work, using public filings. It isn’t personalized financial, tax, legal or investment advice, and it isn’t a recommendation to take any action. Figures may be incomplete or out of date, and your plan documents, award agreements and separation agreement control. Before you act, talk with your financial professional and a tax advisor, and have an employment attorney review any release before you sign it.
Tell us what’s in your separation packet: your grade and weeks of pay, the signing deadline, your stock awards, the 401(k) and any deferred pay. We’ll point out what may need attention first and whether a conversation with a financial professional would help.
This page is an educational resource. Submitting a question does not begin an advisory relationship.