Med-tech goliath Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) announced plans to add to its workforce while Smiths Medical ponders plant closures and jobs cuts for its global detection devices branch.
Minneapolis, Minn.-based Medtronic announced that it will pump $50 million into expanding its Puerto Rican operations over the next three years, which will include about 200 new workers there.
Medtronic first put down manufacturing roots in Puerto Rico in the 1970s, according to the company’s website.
"We are proud that a company the caliber of Medtronic trusts the Puerto Rican market," the commonwealth’s governor Luis Fortuño said during a news conference at the plant, PrimeraHora.com reported. "We continue to expand our offerings to other companies to take advantage of the benefits of investing in our island to ensure new employment opportunities. Puerto Rico is open for Business!"
Meanwhile, Smiths Medical is facing hard decisions as global governments cut spending. Smiths announced that it would tighten its belt to the tune of about $62 million (£40 million) per year by 2014, the U.K. Independent reported.
Smiths said job cuts and plant closures are on the way for its detection unit, which includes drug-detection devices and airport X-ray scanners, but the company hasn’t released numbers or locations.
"The economic outlook remains uncertain and continued pressures on government spending, which particularly impacted Smiths detection, medical and interconnect [military communications division], are likely to continue to constrain revenue opportunities," CEO Philip Bowman told the paper.
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