Medtronic, the medical device firm, has announced plans to lay off 35 employees in Israel. The decision will impact approximately three per cent of its workforce there, which is around 1,200 strong.
This decision comes as part of a broader global restructuring initiative by Medtronic. Furthermore, most of the affected employees are from Mazor Robotics, a company acquired by Medtronic in 2018 for $1.6 billion, marking its largest acquisition in Israel.
Mazor specialises in developing robotic guidance systems for spine surgeries.
The layoffs in Israel follow similar actions taken by Medtronic in recent weeks, including the termination of 44 workers in California, at its Carlsbad facility, and numerous others in Ireland.
The company also announced plans to reorganise and transfer certain operations at the Carlsbad site, as indicated in a filing under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification with California authorities.
However, the specific operations impacted were not detailed in the notification.
The layoffs were scheduled to occur on or around 19 May, or within a 14-day window starting from that date. While the terminations predominantly affected engineering positions, they also encompassed several roles in technician and project management capacities.
It is anticipated that this trend of layoffs will persist throughout the company.
Having established its Israel office in 1974, Medtronic has been actively investing in the country’s technology and innovation sector, having spent an estimated $4 billion acquiring Israeli companies to date. Despite these workforce reductions, Medtronic remains a significant player in the medical device industry, with approximately 95,000 employees globally and a market capitalisation of $110 billion.
