Abbott ($ABT) plans to slash more than 200 jobs from a plant in Ireland, the company disclosed this week, as it trims capacity from production for older-generation stent-related catheter products.
The Belfast Telegraph reported that the cuts will take place at the company's Clonmel manufacturing plant, targeting "redundant" employees. More than 1,200 employees will remain there after the cuts take place.
Abbott spokesman Jonathon Hamilton told FierceMedicalDevices that the plant handles drug-eluting stents, catheters and interventional vascular tools. He noted that the cuts will hit catheter production for older drug-eluting stents, such as first-generation iterations of the company's blockbuster-selling Xience stent line.
Since that product launch, the company has refreshed its Xience product line a number of ways and is handling production of those newer stents at other sites as it cuts back on older models, Hamilton said.
As far as any added layoffs, Hamilton added, "we don't ever speculate on future cuts."
Considering how competitive the stent space has become globally, Abbott has aggressively moved to refresh its line and update Xience-related offerings. In early January, the company rolled out its next-generation Xience Xpedition drug-eluting stent in the U.S., four months after obtaining a CE mark in Europe. The new stent is available in multiple sizes and is sold globally. In January, Abbott spun off its drug R&D business into a new company called AbbVie ($ABBV).
- read the Belfast Telegraph story
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