Smith & Nephew cuts include 24 in Mass. (MassDevice)
Layoffs: Smith & Nephew cuts 80 in Memphis orthopedics arm (MassDevice)
Smith & Nephew lays off 80 employees in Memphis (Commercial Appeal – Memphis)
Smith & Nephew Inc. laid off 80 employees in Memphis Tuesday after the company combined the Memphis-based orthopaedic reconstruction division and its Andover, Mass.-based endoscopy unit in July.
The affected employees were given notice Tuesday and were given “comprehensive severance packages and outplacement support,” according to company spokesman Andrew Burns. Burns did not provide details on the packages given to the employees.
The consolidation affected 150 employees globally, Burns said, but he would not give more specifics about the locations of the affected employees outside of Memphis. The London-based medical device maker employs between 2,000 to 2,100 here.
Memphis employees were laid off from “various departments” across the business, Burns said, but would not divulge more details.
The Memphis operation is now part of the company’s Advanced Surgical Devices division, the combination of the orthopedic and endoscopy businesses.
“There were duplication in roles when we bring these two division together,” Burns said. “You couple that with a more challenging economic and regulatory environment in some of our more established markets, it’s an overall negative effect on our entire industry, not just Smith & Nephew.”