A massive US company now confirms layoffs over two years, resulting in the loss of nearly 200 jobs, sources report.
BD plans to wind down operations at a plant in Ireland over the next 2 1/2 years, a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement to MedTech Dive.
Becton, Dickinson and Company, also known as BD, is an American multinational medical technology company that manufactures and sells medical devices, instrument systems, and reagents.
BD also provides consulting and analytics services in certain geographies.
The phased closure of the Drogheda facility, which makes oncology, interventional radiology and critical care products, could result in the loss of around 170 jobs.
BD’s spokesperson said the decision follows a recent review and reflects an attempt to ensure all operations are efficient and resources “are allocated in the most effective manner possible.”
The spokesperson added that there would be no impact at BD’s other facilities in Ireland.
BD chose Drogheda as the site of its first manufacturing plant in Ireland in 1964.
The company spent $70 million to expand production of BD Posiflush at the site in 2021, creating 100 positions and bringing its investment in the facility over five years to more than $150 million.
At the time, BD said the expansion of the facility would continue throughout 2022 and 2023.
However, the company changed course in 2023.
One year ago, BD told local media it would eliminate 60 jobs over the coming 15 months as part of its focus on “right-sizing manufacturing operations to realign current inventory and future demand.”
BD cited the impact of the pandemic on demand for devices and the decision to spin off its diabetes care operation as drivers of the layoffs.
Now, BD has outlined plans to close the facility.
The first round of redundancies will affect about 110 employees and start in March 2025, according to Irish broadcaster RTE.
BD will reportedly make the remaining redundancies up to September 2026.
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Other Economy News Today
Applications for unemployment benefits now surge to new highs, a sign that the white-hot labor market is starting to cool off.
First-time applications for unemployment benefits rose last week to 231,000, the highest level since August, per CNN.
Thursday’s data also showed that the number of continuing claims, or applications from people who have filed for unemployment for at least one week, was 1.78 million.
That’s an increase of 17,000 from the prior week, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The latest numbers come less than a week after the monthly jobs report showed the US economy added just 175,000 positions in April, less than economists expected and a steep drop-off from prior months.
US employers have now added an average of 245,500 jobs per month, versus 2023’s 251,000-per-month average.
Still, hiring remains strong. Although the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9% last month, it’s the 27th consecutive month that the jobless rate has held under 4%, matching a streak last seen in the late 1960s.
Weekly jobless claims data tends to be volatile but, while one week’s worth of data “does not a trend make,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at Fwdbonds.
“We can no longer be sure that calm seas lie ahead for the US economy if today’s weekly jobless claims are any indication.”
“Company layoffs are picking up, hinting at caution on the part of companies as they weigh the outlook for the second half of the year,” he wrote in a note Thursday.
The Federal Reserve has been battling inflation by raising its key lending rate in the hopes of slowing the economy.
While the labor market has so far resisted those efforts, remaining white hot for the past 18 months despite 11 rate hikes from the central bank, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last week that demand has “cooled from its extremely high level of a couple of years ago.”
Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Economics said in a note Thursday: “We’d need to see at least a month of elevated readings to convince us that the trend really has turned.”
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Also Read: A Giant Company Now Announces Unexpected Layoffs in Virginia
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