J&J to cut 3,000 jobs in Medical Devices

US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson has announced it will eliminate about 3,000 jobs in its medical devices division, or about 4-6% of the unit’s global workforce. The move is expected to generate annual cost savings of $800 million to $1 billion and allow the company to focus on more innovative products. Most of the savings are expected by the end of 2018, including about $200 million in 2016.

The job cuts will affect J&J's orthopedics, surgery and cardiovascular operations, but the company told US news agencies it had no immediate plans to eliminate specific products. The consumer medical devices, vision care and diabetes care will not be affected, Sales of J&J's underperforming medical device division fell by around 10% to nearly $19 billion in the first three quarters of 2015, The company will report fourth quarter results next week.