Kinetic Concepts this week announced that it was planning to cut 300 jobs across the U.S., marking the second round of layoffs this year for the privately owned wound-care giant.
That brings KCI’s layoff total for 2012 to more than 425, joining cuts announced earlier this year when the company was looking to re-shape itself after the $6.3 billion buyout in 2011.
The latest cuts represent about 5% of Kinetic Concepts’ remaining workforce, which numbers about 6,000, spokesman Mike Barger told MassDevice.com in an emailed statement.
"Consistent with our commitment to delivering best-in-class technologies, customer service and clinical support, we are redeploying and streamlining our resources to more efficiently serve the changing needs of our customers," Barger wrote. "We redeployed our resources yesterday. As a result, about 300 jobs were affected."
The decision was driven partially by customer complaints that they were being targeted by multiple KCI sales representatives, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
"Our new structure, and the ability to be more responsive and nimble, will give KCI a competitive advantage in the marketplace well into the future," Barger told us. "It’s a structure that allows us to be more efficient and better meet the changing needs of our customers."
KCI was taken private in a $6.3 billion leveraged buyout last year by Apax Partners and a pair of Canadian pension funds.
The company in February announced layoffs of more than 125 workers, most of which were cut from its San Antonio, Tx., facility.