A layoff notice from Boston Scientific starts several time-sensitive clocks that most employees do not know about. On July 27, 2026, Boston Scientific announced a major restructuring plan with significant job cuts expected across the company. The exact number of affected employees has not been disclosed. What is clear is that this is a company-wide savings drive, not a small department shuffle.

The decisions you make in the next few days and weeks will affect your finances for months. Some of these windows are hard deadlines: miss them and you lose the option entirely. This article covers all of them, in order.

  • File for Massachusetts unemployment today at mass.gov/unemployment. Do not wait.
  • You have 60 days to elect COBRA or enroll in a Marketplace plan after losing coverage.
  • If you are 40 or older, you have 21 to 45 days to review your severance agreement before signing.
  • If you hold ISOs, you have 90 days from your last day to exercise them at ISO tax rates.
  • If you receive a severance lump sum, set aside 22% or more for federal taxes now.

Written by the Layoff HQ research team. Sources verified against DOL, EEOC, IRS, and state workforce agency primary documentation.

What happened at Boston Scientific?

Boston Scientific announced a restructuring plan on July 27, 2026, as part of a broader savings initiative. The company has not publicly detailed which roles or locations are affected. Employees received notice of the plan, but specific headcount numbers have not been released. Reuters and FierceBiotech both reported the announcement on the same day it was made.

If you are reading this because you received a notice or heard about cuts through your team, the information below applies to you regardless of your specific role or department.

What should you do about unemployment insurance right now?

Unemployment insurance is a state-administered benefit that replaces a portion of your wages while you look for work. In Massachusetts, you file through the state's UI Online portal at mass.gov/unemployment.

File on your last day or the day after. Massachusetts does not make benefits retroactive to a date before you file. Every day you wait is a day of potential benefits you cannot recover. There is no penalty for filing too early. There is a real cost to filing too late.

Massachusetts's maximum weekly unemployment benefit is $1,033 as of 2026. Your actual benefit depends on your prior earnings, but knowing the ceiling helps you plan your cash flow. You will need your Social Security number, your employment history for the past 18 months, and a valid ID. Massachusetts uses ID.me for identity verification, so be ready for that step when you log in.

If you receive severance, it may affect your eligibility week to week depending on how it is paid. A lump sum and a salary-continuation arrangement are treated differently. Check the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance guidance at mass.gov for the current rules on how severance affects your weekly benefit.

What should you do about health insurance?

COBRA is a federal law that lets you continue your employer-sponsored health coverage after you leave. You do not have to decide immediately. You have 60 days from the date you lose coverage or the date you receive your COBRA notice (whichever is later) to elect it. If you elect it, coverage is retroactive to day one of your separation, so you can wait and see if you need care before committing.

The catch is cost. The average COBRA premium for individual coverage in 2026 is about $703 per month. That is the full cost of the plan, what your employer was paying plus what you were paying, plus a 2% administrative fee. For many people, that is a significant jump from the paycheck deduction they were used to.

Your other option is the Marketplace. Losing employer coverage triggers a 60-day Special Enrollment Period on healthcare.gov, which means you can shop for a plan right now even though open enrollment is not happening. Depending on your income for the rest of 2026, you may qualify for subsidies that make a Marketplace plan significantly cheaper than COBRA.

Run the comparison. If you are generally healthy and do not have upcoming procedures, a lower-premium Marketplace plan may make more sense. If you have ongoing prescriptions or scheduled care, check whether your current doctors are in-network on any Marketplace plan before switching. The 60-day windows for both COBRA and the Marketplace run concurrently, so do not assume you have extra time.

Do you need to review your severance agreement before signing?

A severance agreement is a legal contract. Signing it typically means you release Boston Scientific from most future legal claims, including age discrimination claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

If you are 40 or older, the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) gives you specific rights. For an individual separation, you have at least 21 days to review the agreement before signing. If this qualifies as a group termination program (two or more employees), that window extends to 45 days. Either way, you also have 7 days after signing to change your mind and revoke the agreement. The 7-day revocation period cannot be waived.

Boston Scientific has not disclosed severance terms publicly. That means you will not know what you are being offered until you receive the paperwork. When you do, here is what to look at:

If you have any doubt, an employment attorney consultation before you sign is worth the cost. Many offer free or low-cost initial calls. Do not let anyone tell you the signing deadline is sooner than OWBPA requires if you are 40 or older.

What about your Boston Scientific equity and stock options?

Boston Scientific is a publicly traded company, which means many employees hold equity in some form, whether RSUs, ISOs, or non-qualified stock options (NQSOs). Your specific situation depends on your grant type and vesting schedule, both of which are in your equity plan documents and your grant agreements.

If you hold Incentive Stock Options (ISOs), the most important deadline is the 90-day post-termination exercise window. Under IRC Section 422, you have 90 days from your last day of employment to exercise ISOs and retain their favorable tax treatment. After that window closes, unexercised ISOs convert to NQSOs, which are taxed as ordinary income at exercise instead of potentially qualifying for long-term capital gains treatment.

Exercising ISOs can trigger the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), especially if the stock's fair market value is significantly above your exercise price. If you are sitting on a large ISO spread, talk to a CPA before you exercise. The math matters and the timing matters.

RSUs are different. Unvested RSUs typically forfeit on termination. Check your grant agreements for any acceleration clauses tied to restructuring events, though these are rare outside of executive compensation packages. Any RSUs that vested before your termination date are shares you already own. Make sure those are transferred to a personal brokerage account before your access to company equity platforms is cut off.

What about taxes on your severance?

The IRS treats severance pay as supplemental wages. That means Boston Scientific will withhold federal income tax at the flat supplemental rate of 22% on the first $1 million paid. This is a withholding rate, not your actual tax rate. If your total income for 2026 puts you in a higher bracket, 22% withholding will not be enough and you will owe the difference when you file.

Q2 2026 estimated taxes were due June 15, 2026. If your severance is paid in the second half of 2026, Q3 estimated taxes are due September 15, 2026. If you expect to owe more than $1,000 in federal taxes for the year above what is withheld, making an estimated payment by September 15 can help you avoid an underpayment penalty.

Massachusetts also has its own income tax. Severance paid to Massachusetts residents is subject to state income tax. Factor that into your cash flow planning alongside the federal 22% withholding.

A simple approach: when your severance arrives, set aside at least 22% immediately in a separate account. If your effective rate ends up being higher, you will be glad you did. If it is lower, that money comes back as a refund when you file.

What happens to your 401(k)?

Your 401(k) balance stays yours. Losing your job doesn't affect the money already in your account. What changes is what you do with it next.

You have three main options. You can leave the money in Boston Scientific's plan if it allows former employees to stay. You can do a direct rollover to an IRA or a new employer's plan, meaning the money moves institution to institution with no taxes withheld. Or you can take an indirect rollover, where the plan cuts you a check. You'll have 60 days from the date of distribution to deposit it into a qualifying retirement account. The plan withholds 20% automatically, so you'd need to cover that 20% from other funds to complete a full rollover.

If you're under 59 and a half and don't roll the money over, you owe income tax on the full amount plus a 10% early withdrawal penalty. Check your vesting schedule too. Unvested employer contributions may be forfeited at termination.

Deadlines and rules described here reflect federal law and general state guidelines as of the article date.

The Layoff Guide

The deadlines above apply whether or not you are tracking them. The Layoff Guide from Layoff HQ is a 33-page field guide that covers all twelve post-layoff deadline events in the order they arrive: unemployment, the severance review and revocation windows, COBRA and the Marketplace, your FSA, your equity window, your 401(k), and your taxes. Each event comes with timed checkpoints, the decision math, and the one mistake that costs people the most, plus a fill-in worksheet that turns your last day worked into your complete personal deadline calendar. One-time purchase. No subscription. Instant download, with a 14-day full refund if it is not useful.

Get the Layoff Guide or start with the free post-layoff checklist to build your Decision Calendar now.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to elect COBRA after a Boston Scientific layoff?

You have 60 days from the date you lose coverage or the date you receive the COBRA notice, whichever is later. The election is retroactive, so you can wait and see if you need coverage before committing. Average individual COBRA premiums in 2026 run about $703 per month. If that feels steep, compare it to Marketplace plans during your 60-day Special Enrollment Period.

Do I have to sign my severance agreement right away?

No. If you are 40 or older, federal law gives you at least 21 days to review the agreement, and 45 days if this is a group layoff. You also have 7 days after signing to change your mind and revoke it. Do not let anyone pressure you to sign before you have reviewed it carefully, preferably with an employment attorney.

What happens to my Boston Scientific stock options if I am laid off?

If you hold Incentive Stock Options (ISOs), you have 90 days from your termination date to exercise them and keep the favorable ISO tax treatment under IRC Section 422. After that 90-day window, unexercised ISOs convert to non-qualified options with less favorable tax treatment. Check your equity plan documents immediately to confirm your grant type and vesting status.

How do I file for unemployment in Massachusetts?

File online at UI Online (mass.gov/unemployment) as soon as possible after your last day. Massachusetts does not make benefits retroactive to a date before you file, so every day you wait is a day of benefits you may not recover. The maximum weekly benefit in Massachusetts is $1,033 in 2026.

  1. Boston Scientific restructuring announcement, July 27, 2026: Reuters
  2. COBRA election rules: U.S. Department of Labor
  3. Marketplace Special Enrollment Period: healthcare.gov
  4. OWBPA severance review windows: EEOC
  5. ISO post-termination exercise window, IRC Section 422: IRS Publication 525
  6. Federal supplemental wage withholding rate: IRS Publication 15
  7. Q3 2026 estimated tax due date: IRS
  8. Massachusetts maximum weekly UI benefit: mass.gov
  9. 401(k) 60-day indirect rollover rule: IRS Rollover Chart
  10. Average COBRA individual premium: KFF Health Policy 101