Medical device giant Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) confirmed that it will cut jobs from its cardiac rhythm disease management business.
Medtronic spokesman Christopher Garland confirmed news of the layoffs in an email sent to MassDevice.com today, writing that the company’s "CRDM business reduced approximately 220 positions across the US."
The industry has faced a prolonged CRM slump, with top-tier device makers posting sluggish or negative growth in the market.
In Medtronic’s most recent earnings report, released in February, the company posted a 9.4% decrease in global CRM sales and 5% decrease in U.S. sales when compared with the same period last year, including for pacing systems, defibrillators and atrial fibrillation devices.
Other big players in the CRM market have seen a slide as well. Boston Scientific’s (NYSE:BSX) reported a 10% decline in its CRM sales during its 1st quarter, and rival St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) noted a 4% slide in its CRM sales during the 3 months ended March 31.
Medtronic is slated to release its newest quarterly report later this month.
St. Jude CEO Daniel Starks was optimistic about the CRM market in a recent conference call with analysts.
"We actually have a lot of very positive early indicators with respect to our U.S. ICD business," Starks said. "We actually had a few more active U.S. ICD accounts in the firs1st quarter of 2012 than we did in the 1st quarter of 2011."
