Medtech: Employment Up, Industry “Picking Up Steam”

Medtech employment remained steady in last year with most medical device makers experiencing an increase in their workforce, according to a new jobs report published by EP Vantage.

Of the top 15 device makers, only three experienced a reduction in headcount and two of those were due to companies spinning off their respective pharmaceutical operations, the report shows. Otherwise the top 15 largest medtech firms managed to grow their workforces by an average of 6 percent.

Companies including Baxter International and Stryker grew through multibillion-dollar acquisitions of other medtech companies. Baxter was the fastest growing among the top 15 companies in 2013 thanks in part to its acquisition of Gambro, which added 10,000 employees for a growth rate of 20 percent.

“[With] several megamergers underway, we can expect to see much more drastic changes in device makers’ headcounts in the coming years,”commented Elizabeth Cairns, the report’s author. 

However, acquisitions did not play a role for the number two-ranked hirer, Intuitive Surgical. Despite a tumultuous year, the firm brought on 28 new salespeople in 2013, an increase of 30 percent.

For more on the report report, visit www.evaluategroup.com/MedtechJobNumbers