As expected, Boston Sci workers get layoff slips
Several hundred employees of the Arden Hills operations received notices Thursday.
By Janet Moore, Star Tribune
Last update: February 15, 2007 – 10:47 PM
Several hundred employees at Boston Scientific Corporation's campus in Arden Hills received their layoff notices Thursday.
The news wasn't unexpected. The Natick, Mass.-based medical technology company said in early January that it would lay off 500 to 600 people at its troubled cardiac rhythm management division, formerly Guidant Corp.
At the time, Boston Scientific said that paring staff would help it "increase innovation, productivity and competitiveness" at the division, which makes heart defibrillators and pacemakers. But sales of the devices plunged after Guidant recalled thousands of the devices in 2005 and 2006 because of safety concerns.
While a spokesman for Boston Scientific wouldn't further quantify the number of local employees affected by the layoff, the company notified the state that 550 positions would be eliminated, said Anthony Alongi, director of the state's Dislocated Worker Program. That includes 400 people in Arden Hills and 150 from the company's sales force.
Before the layoffs, the facility employed about 3,300 people. Boston Scientific bought Guidant in 2006 for $27 billion after a bidding war with rival Johnson & Johnson.
Boston Scientific spokesman Paul Donovan described the separation packages as "generous."
All affected employees will receive 60 days of pay and benefits to satisfy requirements of the federal Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification (WARN) act. In addition, employees will receive severance packages based on length of service, Donovan said.
Those employees who were with Guidant when it changed hands April 21, 2006, will be eligible for change-in-control payments triggered by the acquisition by Boston Scientific. These payments are also tied to the amount of time they've been with the company.
The state's Dislocated Worker Program, part of the Department of Employment and Economic Development, has set aside about $1.54 million for Boston Scientific employees -- money that is funded by a payroll tax on employers. Services range from résumé-writing help to long-term career training, Alongi said.
The state will hold meetings on the Dislocated Worker Program for affected Boston Scientific employees at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday at the Shoreview Library, 4570 Victoria St.
Boston Scientific's stock closed Thursday at $17.06, down 15 cents.
By Janet Moore, Star Tribune
Last update: February 15, 2007 – 10:47 PM
Several hundred employees at Boston Scientific Corporation's campus in Arden Hills received their layoff notices Thursday.
The news wasn't unexpected. The Natick, Mass.-based medical technology company said in early January that it would lay off 500 to 600 people at its troubled cardiac rhythm management division, formerly Guidant Corp.
At the time, Boston Scientific said that paring staff would help it "increase innovation, productivity and competitiveness" at the division, which makes heart defibrillators and pacemakers. But sales of the devices plunged after Guidant recalled thousands of the devices in 2005 and 2006 because of safety concerns.
While a spokesman for Boston Scientific wouldn't further quantify the number of local employees affected by the layoff, the company notified the state that 550 positions would be eliminated, said Anthony Alongi, director of the state's Dislocated Worker Program. That includes 400 people in Arden Hills and 150 from the company's sales force.
Before the layoffs, the facility employed about 3,300 people. Boston Scientific bought Guidant in 2006 for $27 billion after a bidding war with rival Johnson & Johnson.
Boston Scientific spokesman Paul Donovan described the separation packages as "generous."
All affected employees will receive 60 days of pay and benefits to satisfy requirements of the federal Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification (WARN) act. In addition, employees will receive severance packages based on length of service, Donovan said.
Those employees who were with Guidant when it changed hands April 21, 2006, will be eligible for change-in-control payments triggered by the acquisition by Boston Scientific. These payments are also tied to the amount of time they've been with the company.
The state's Dislocated Worker Program, part of the Department of Employment and Economic Development, has set aside about $1.54 million for Boston Scientific employees -- money that is funded by a payroll tax on employers. Services range from résumé-writing help to long-term career training, Alongi said.
The state will hold meetings on the Dislocated Worker Program for affected Boston Scientific employees at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday at the Shoreview Library, 4570 Victoria St.
Boston Scientific's stock closed Thursday at $17.06, down 15 cents.
Labels: Boston Scientific, Jeff Altman, layoffs, The Big Game Hunter, The Job Market Blog
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