Hiring ahead of and cutting after mergers is always tricky, but organizational change marches on. Post-merger Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) and pre-merger Covidien are both forging ahead, with cuts in J&J's DePuy Synthes and hiring for Covidien ($COV).
J&J will cut about 400 jobs from its DePuy Synthes medical device unit. The J&J cuts were disclosed to employees on Tuesday as part of the continuing reorganization of DePuy Synthes, The Wall Street Journal reported. The cuts represent less than 2% of the global DePuy workforce of 23,000 people. J&J acquired Synthes in 2012 for $21.3 million in cash and stock and combined it with DePuy.
This news comes just as Covidien said it would hire more than 100 people at an Indiana manufacturing facility that it plans to renovate and equip. Covidien plans to use Plainfield, IN, to centralize its medical device, repair, calibration and upgrading. By the end of 2015, it expects to have the facility operational and to create up to 112 new jobs there. It's not clear if new acquirer Medtronic ($MDT) is on board with these plans--which might be open to revision upon completion of the merger which is expected close in the fourth quarter or in early 2015.
- here is the WSJ J&J story
- and the Covidien press release