Diagnostics imaging devices maker Digirad Corp.(NSDQ:DRAD) announced some big changes for its primary business, as well as an executive shift and a number of layoffs.
Layoffs
Medical device tax more likely to raise prices than lower headcounts, survey says
Medical device makers are considering a few alternatives to deal with the impact of the new 2.3% medical device sales tax, with far more planning increases in product prices than expecting workforce reductions, according to a recent survey.
Smith & Nephew CEO walks back medical device layoffs claim
Smith & Nephew (FTSE:SN, NYSE:SNN) CEO Olivier Bohuon walked back earlier statements blaming roughly 100 layoffs on the U.S. medical device tax, saying the media got the story wrong.
Boston Scientific laid off another 500 workers last summer, records show
Updated Feb. 5, 2013, at 2:45 p.m. with comments from Boston Scientific.
Massachusetts medical device company Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) may have cut 500 more jobs last year than previously reported.
Smith & Nephew blames device tax for new layoffs
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.
Layoffs: Hologic to shutter Indiana plant
Hologic (NSDQ:HOLX) said it plans to shutter a breast biopsy device-making plant in Indianapolis this summer, laying off all 141 workers at the facility.
The closure will roll out in 4 phases, beginning with layoffs for 20 workers March 29, according to a letter sent to the Indiana Dept. of Workforce Development from the Bedford, Mass.-based women’s health company.
Layoffs: Zimmer Spine, Getinge shutter plants in Texas
Medical device makers in California resilient through recession, but hiring remains sluggish
Medical device makers in California shed fewer than 2% of their workforce over the last 5 years, suggesting that the industry remained relatively resilient during the great recession, according to a new report by the California Healthcare Institute.
The medical device industry shrank from 73,119 employees in 2007 to 71,947 in 2011, a change of about 1.6%.
Layoffs: Accuray to cut 13% of its workforce amid “strategic transformation”
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based radiotherapy devices maker Accuray (NSDQ:ARAY) will lay off about 13% of its global workforce, mostly in the U.S., the company reported this week.
Accuray made the announcement upon releasing its preliminary 2nd quarter 2013 financial results, in which the company noted a 45%-50% decline in product revenue.
Medical devices companies in 2012: The year of the layoff
The medical device industry had a lot of big stories during the last year, including tales of recalls, lawsuits and CEO swapping, but the single factor that drove more big headlines than any other was news of layoffs.
Some of the biggest companies in the industry announced significant cuts in 2012, amounting to about 7,000 reported layoffs, by some estimates.