Medtech M&A's "Huge Impact on Jobs"

M&A activity had a huge impact on medtech job numbers in 2014, according to new analysis from EP Vantage.   Thanks to its purchase of Covidien, Medtronic (Dublin, Ireland) is now the largest medtech company in terms of headcount, with more than 90,000 on the payroll at the end of its 2014 fiscal year. But, even discounting the 39,500 jobs that the Covidien deal added, the EP Vantage report states, the number of Medtronic employees grew by 3,500 or 7% from 2013 to 2014.   Not one of the top 15 medtech companies saw a net decrease in staff numbers last year, explains the report. Even Boston Scientific, which has been cutting jobs for some time, brought in another 1,000 employees in 2014, only partly a result of the 350 workers gained through its acquisition of Bayer’s interventional cardiology business.   The only company among the top 15 not to show a net gain in jobs was St. Jude Medical (St. Paul, MN), which in 2014 underwent a reorganization that involved combining its manufacturing and supply chain operations. However, adds the report, "assuming that the acquisition of the heart pump maker Thoratec for $3.4bn closes in the coming year, St. Jude could be at least 1,000 workers stronger this time next year".   Click here to access the report.