Boston Scientific has disclosed plans to permanently close its manufacturing facility in San Jose, California, laying off 170 employees in the process.
Thanks to the passage of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act in 1988, most large companies must report their plans to close facilities and conduct mass layoffs at least 60 days in advance.
Boston Scientific filed its notice with the state of California at the beginning of this month. The closure and layoffs will take effect Jan. 30.
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“To improve our operating performance and meet anticipated market demands, we continuously assess the way we are structured and resourced to deliver value to patients and our customers,” the company said in a statement to Fierce Medtech.
“As part of a restructuring plan announced in 2018, we are transferring the work currently performed at our Baytech site in San Jose, California, to other Boston Scientific sites. Transferring work among our facilities helps us align our products, capabilities, technologies and resources to support our business strategies,” the statement continued.
“Our priority is the employees who have been impacted by the decision, and they have been given adequate notification and are being offered transition assistance.”
The Silicon Valley manufacturing facility was previously the subject of another restructuring in 2015, according to a WARN notice (PDF) filed that July, which attributed 171 layoffs to the plant, though it remained open for the time being.
RELATED: Boston Scientific terminates Lotus Edge TAVR program over delivery system woes
The notice about the upcoming San Jose closure and layoffs comes about a year after Boston Scientific had to lay off more than 300 employees due to another facility closure and the decision to stop selling its Lotus Edge transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) system.
In early November 2020, the Massachusetts-based company confirmed it would close its outpost in Bothell, Washington, and transfer its operations to other facilities, effective the following month. A total of 230 employees were laid off in the process and reportedly offered severance and the opportunity to apply for other jobs within the company.
Just a few days later, it commenced the voluntary recall of the Lotus Edge device. The shutdown of all operations related to the TAVR system eliminated 106 jobs in Minnesota and the field, but the company said at the time that it was aiming to find some of the laid-off employees new roles elsewhere at Boston Scientific.