Medtronic announces 500 job cuts in Minn.
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Medtronic says it's eliminating 2,000 jobs from its global workforce, with a net 340 Minnesota positions being eliminated.
The announcement came as part of the medical device maker's fourth-quarter earnings call with investors.
The cuts fall primarily in Medtronic's cardiovascular and spine businesses and are part of a consolidation of manufacturing operations. The layoffs in those divisions are expected to save as much as $225 million a year.
Jeff Windau, a health care analyst with Edward Jones, said factors driving layoffs at Medtronic are not unique to the company. The whole medical device industry is suffering, he said.
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"The usage has gone down, the volume has gone down in procedures. There's more pricing pressure in the industry that they have to take into account," Windau said.
Medtronic spokeswoman Cindy Resman said the company is eliminating 500 jobs in Minnesota. But she said other parts of the company are adding 160 jobs in the state.
"Some areas are growing, some are not, and these changes are related to aligning resource needs within areas of our company that are growing," Resman said. "I will emphasize that while we're pursuing changes in some, reductions in some, we're growing in others."
Resman said about two-thirds of the cuts have already taken place, including most of the layoffs in Minnesota. She said the rest of the cuts will be complete by May of next year.
The company also announced its fourth-quarter net income fell 2 percent to $969 million.
