Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) officials in the coming months will start a major restructuring of the world’s largest medical device company — with expected annual savings of $450 million to $475 million by 2023.
The goal, according to a report Medtronic filed with the SEC yesterday, is to take the company’s current groups and reorganize them into “highly focused, accountable, and empowered operating units (OUs).” Medtronic (operated out of Fridley, Minn.) will create the OUs out of existing businesses and organize them around specific therapy areas.
Operating unit leaders will have full responsibility for profits and losses. They’ll control their own product development and clinical resources, and direct their own sales organizations in the company’s larger geographies.
The overall goal, according to the SEC filing, is accelerating innovation: “This new operating model will simplify Medtronic’s organizational structure and accelerate decision-making and execution.”
Medtronic officials expect their Simplification Restructuring Program to cost roughly $400 million to $450 million before taxes, with the majority of costs recognized by the end of the fiscal year ended April 2022.
There was no mention in the SEC filing about how the restructuring will affect headcount. A Medtronic spokesperson told MassDevice via email that the company has made the “difficult, but necessary decision to reduce the size and infrastructure of our company.”
The spokesperson added: “We recognize the work, dedication, and commitment of our Medtronic team. We are providing employee assistance and will work to retain and redeploy affected employees to other parts of the company, wherever possible.”
The company plans to further elaborate on its plans during its upcoming virtual investor day, scheduled for Oct. 14.
The restructuring news comes about a week after a first-quarter earnings call in which CEO Geoff Martha said to expect plans for a “new Medtronic” that is more nimble and competitive. He touted the pipeline of products the company has built, saying that it was time to play offense and expand market share now that the pipeline is kicking in.
“We’re determined to make this pipeline count, not just for patients, our customers but for shareholders,” Martha said.
Analyst Raj Denhoy at Jefferies previously described the strategy as “turning the battleship.”
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