Orthopedic giant Smith & Nephew (FTSE:SN, NYSE:SNN) this week announced that it would lay around 100 employees in order to offset part of the burden of the medical device tax.

The cuts will be made from a pair of facilities in Tennessee and Massachusetts, and Smith & Nephew plans to provide the employees with "a comprehensive severance package and outplacement support," spokesman Joe Metzer confirmed with MassDevice.com today.

"The nearly $30 billion tax on medical devices that took effect Jan. 1, 2013, has impacted a number of companies across the U.S.," Metzger added. "Smith & Nephew is not immune from this added expense burden."

The company didn’t specify how many employees were cut from each location, but unnamed sources told the Memphis Daily News that about 60 of the jobs lost were in Tennessee.

Smith & Nephew is already in the midst of a multi-year layoff plan. Almost precisely 1 year ago the company said that it would cut 7% of its global workforce, or about 770 workers, over a period of 3 years in hopes of saving $150 million in annual costs. About 220 layoffs had already been completed when the announcement was made.

The medical device tax, the 1st payments for which were due at the end of January, is likely going to cost Smith & Nephew $25 million this year, Metzger told us.

SNN shares were down 0.5% to $57.39 as of about 2:15 p.m. today.