UPDATE: Medtronic adds jobs in Puerto Rico while Smiths Group plans cuts

October 4, 2011 By MassDevice staff Leave a Comment

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’s parent company Smiths Group is facing hard decisions as global governments cut spending. Smiths Group 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," Smiths Group CEO Philip Bowman told the paper.

The budget-tightening isn’t going to affect Smiths Medical in terms of faclities or jobs, director of global marketing & communications Judy Rossi told MassDevice.

"While we are watching costs like every other company, Smiths Medical does not have any plans for job cuts or plant closures in the U.S. or globally," Rossi said.

*Correction, October 4, 2011: This article was updated to clarify that Smiths Medical is not expecting any plant closures or jobs cuts. Its parent company Smiths Group is responsible for the cuts to its detection branches.Return to the corrected sentence.

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