Dive Brief:
- ICU Medical is preparing to close a service and distribution facility in Oakdale, Minnesota, and lay off all 83 employees at the location, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letter.
- The infusion pump maker has prioritized cost reduction efforts including the consolidation of service centers and manufacturing sites since acquiring Smiths Medical from London-based Smiths Group in 2022.
- San Clemente, California-based ICU decided to permanently shutter the Oakdale site after a thorough analysis of its U.S. service operations, the company said in the July 16 WARN letter filed in Minnesota.
Dive Insight:
ICU’s planned facility closure is the latest in a series of medtech industry workforce reductions that have hit the sector hard over the past two years. A recent MedTech Dive analysis of WARN filings in state databases found more than 14,000 employees in the sector have lost their jobs in restructurings since the start of 2023.
Terminations at the Oakdale operation are expected to begin on Sept. 16 and continue through Dec. 31, according to ICU’s WARN notice, which the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development provided to MedTech Dive.
ICU acquired Smiths Medical for $2.35 billion in January 2022, adding syringe and ambulatory infusion, vascular access and vital care devices to its portfolio. The company posted a net loss of $29.7 million in 2023 as it faced challenges integrating the Smiths Medical acquisition and saw its revenue decline.
ICU’s efforts to stabilize operations and position the combined company for growth have included eliminating duplicative pump service centers and other sites globally. It plans to cut its number of manufacturing sites in half to 10 facilities remaining by 2026, from 20 sites in 2022.
The Minnesota WARN notice showed the job terminations at the Oakdale service facility will mostly affect technician roles but will also include inspectors, supervisors, engineers and other positions. The employees were not represented by a union.
This spring, Smiths Medical recalled more than 2,900 emergency ventilators in the U.S. after receiving reports of a problem linked to eight serious injuries.
