St. Jude Medical To Cut 270 Jobs In California
By Jof Enriquez,
Follow me on Twitter @jofenriq
St. Jude Medical is laying off up to 270 workers at its Sylmar, CA facility as part of a streamlining plan first announced by the company earlier this year.
The company is eliminating the second shift at its plant in the Los Angeles suburb starting July 28, according to a report in the San Francisco Valley Business Journal, citing a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed by St. Jude with the California Employment Development Department. Second shift workers affected by the layoffs can re-apply for first-shift positions, the report said.
“We are working to ensure a smooth and respectful process for all employees and to support them during their employment transition,” said St. Jude spokesperson Micki Sievwright, according to the Business Journal report.
St. Jude announced in a statement in January that it was merging two operating divisions – its implantable electronic systems division (IESD) and its cardiovascular and ablation technologies division (CATD) − “into one integrated research and development organization, and will combine manufacturing and supply chain operations worldwide.”
St. Jude President and CEO Daniel J. Starks commented on the integration in the press release, saying “the changes we announced today will help us build on that success to further leverage our scale, align on our highest priorities and improve execution of our long-term growth program.”
The Sylmar plant manufactures cardiac rhythm devices, including the Durata line of implantable defibrillator leads. It was hit by job cuts in 2012 when more than 200 employees were let go in a restructuring move. Additionally, the facility was subjected to a series of manufacturing quality inspections by the U.S. FDA in 2012, 2013, and 2014.
The plant continued to operate pending the closure of a warning letter it received from the agency in January 2013. In early July, the plant was given clearance by regulators after 18 months of investigation.