While many of the big-time medical device companies are forecasting sunny
earnings for 2013, that hasn't slowed down the march to trim payroll, as
companies from Accuray ($ARAY) to Zimmer ($ZMH) have announced thousands of layoffs since Jan. 1.
For some, like Abbott
Laboratories ($ABT) and Medtronic ($MDT), the job cuts are designed to pare down sluggish units and reinvest in
more successful segments. Abbott announced hundreds of layoffs in its medical
device business, cutting some losses amid slipping demand for old-generation
stents, but the company is still profiting off its growing diagnostics arm, and
CEO Miles White said he expects the CE marked Absorb to become a "workhorse" for the company once it wins FDA
approval.
It's a similar story for
Medtronic, as the world's largest devicemaker disclosed this week that it's
cutting thousands of jobs around the world to save $225 million per year. The
cuts are centered on Medtronic's struggling spinal and cardiac rhythm
management businesses, and cutting manufacturing jobs will allow the company to
invest in fast-growing spaces like atrial fibrillation and neuromodulation.
For the likes of Boston
Scientific ($BSX) and Quest Diagnostics ($DGX), however, the payroll slashing has a bit more immediacy. Boston
Scientific is deep into CEO Mike Mahoney's plan to return the company to growth, and, in the short term, that means
rolling out new devices and trimming costs. The Massachusetts device giant is
mounting a sizable job-cutting initiative in 2013, looking to save between $100
million and $115 million.
Quest is in a similar
position. As demand for diagnostic tests dries up and Medicare reimbursement
woes put the future in jeopardy, the company is looking to lop off hundreds of
jobs by year's end, part of a wide-ranging restructuring effort designed to cut
spending by $500 million. Along the way, Quest has shipped off many of its
diagnostic products units and is investing in clinical testing and contract research,
redefining its business to stave off softening sales in its flagship units.
While the stated reasons
always vary, underlying every layoff announcement--even the ones buried in
paragraph 27 of otherwise cheery press releases--is an understanding that the
business of selling medical devices and diagnostics has changed. Companies are
shifting priorities in response to a changing healthcare market, where
cost-effectiveness has become just as important as clinical efficacy. Med tech
companies are moving away from mainstay products with so-so reputations and
doubling down on technologies that can help reduce repeat hospital visits and
save money for patients, payers and providers.
That transition is unlikely to
be painless, however, and these are hardly the last layoffs we'll see in 2013.