J&J to cut about 3,000 jobs in its medical device business (Philadelphia Business Journal)
Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday its plans to eliminate between 4 percent and 6 percent of its medical device workforce over the next two years as part of an effort to generate $800 million to $1 billion in savings.
The jobs cuts work out to about 3,000 jobs at the New Brunswick, N.J., health care giant, which said it is undertaking the restructuring plan to “accelerate innovation” and “better serve the needs of customers and patients in today’s evolving health care marketplace.”
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), which has operations worldwide, did not specify from which regions the job cuts will come.
Included in Johnson & Johnson’s medical device segment is its DePuy Synthes subsidiary which has offices in West Chester, Pa. Johnson & Johnson bought Synthes, a maker of orthopedic and neurological devices, for $19.7 billion in 2012 and merged it with its existing DePuy International business.
Johnson & Johnson’s consumer medical devices, vision care and diabetes care businesses will not be impacted by the restructuring plan, the company said.
“The bold steps we are taking today are to evolve our offerings, structure and footprint and increase our investment in innovation,” said Gary Pruden, worldwide chairman of Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices, in a statement. “These actions recognize the changing needs of the global medical device market and will deliver more value to customers, increasing our competitive advantage and driving growth and profitability for our business.”
Johnson & Johnson said it would record pre-tax charges of $2 billion to $2.4 billion in connection with the restructuring plan and job cuts.
In the Philadelphia region, Johnson & Johnson is also the parent company for McNeil Consumer Healthcare in Fort Washington, Pa.; Animas Corp. in West Chester; and Janssen Biotech in Horsham, Pa.