Covidien to cut 200 jobs after declining sales
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Covidien is to cut around 30% of staff at its manufacturing plant in Tullamore, Ireland, due to falling sales and increased competition from low-cost rivals. The firm is planning to axe 160 full-time positions and 39 temporary jobs from its 650-strong workforce, according to the Irish Times. The firm said that it would be making the cuts through an early retirement and voluntary redundancies programme. Cost-cutting measures such as the loss of overtime and new shift arrangements have recently been implemented at the plant, which is part of the firm’s medical supplies division. Last month, the medical supplies business reported Q2 sales of $421m. This was a 5% decline from the same period the previous year. Covidien’s medical supplies unit sells nursing care, medical surgical and SharpSafety blood collection products. Covidien, which has its headquarters in Dublin, has two other sites in Ireland– Galway and Athlone.