News FMD reprint for your knowledge
While many of the big-time medical device companies are forecasting sunny earnings for 2013, that hasn't slowed down the march to trim payroll, as companies from Accuray ($ARAY) to Zimmer ($ZMH) have announced thousands of layoffs since Jan. 1.
For some, like Abbott Laboratories ($ABT) and Medtronic ($MDT), the job cuts are designed to pare down sluggish units and reinvest in more successful segments. Abbott announced hundreds of layoffs in its medical device business, cutting some losses amid slipping demand for old-generation stents, but the company is still profiting off its growing diagnostics arm, and CEO Miles White said he expects the CE marked Absorb to become a "workhorse" for the company once it wins FDA approval.

