Boston Scientific Corp., of Natick, Mass., hosted a Webcast this morning to discuss Wednesday’s announcement of its plans to lay off 2,300 employees, or 13 percent of its global workforce, starting this month through the end of 2008.
The firm also reported a third-quarter loss of $272 million.
According to Boston Scientific, another 2,000 workers are expected to leave the company in connection with the company’s selling of three business units.
The company plans to reduce its operating expenses by $475-$525 million, which represents 12-13 percent of this year’s $4.1 billion baseline. It is also anticipating a further reduction of an estimated $25-$50 million in 2009.
Boston Scientific execs say the workforce and budget cuts are part of an initiative to bring the company’s expenses back in line with its revenues. Wall Street analysts point to the company’s $8 billion debt following last year’s acquisition of Guidant, in addition to declining sales in two of its core businesses: drug-coated stents and implantable heart defibrillators.
Participating in the Webcast were the company’s high-ranking executives, including CEO Jim Tobin, Paul LaViolette, chief operating officer and Sam Leno, executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Archived replay will be available at http://www.bostonscientific.com in the Investor Relations section.
