The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Manufacturing Manufacturing Of Furniture And Other Manufacturing Other Manufacturing 32.5 - Manufacture of medical and dental instruments and supplies
550 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
2 February 2012
Employment effect (start)
1 November 2011
Foreseen end date
31 December 2014
Description
UK-based medical technology firm Smith & Nephew will cut 550 jobs worldwide over the next three years, out of a global workforce of around 11,000. It has not been reported in which countries the job losses will occur.
Details of the plans were announced on 2 February 2012. Some 220 jobs have already been lost as part of a cost-saving strategy announced in November 2011, while another 550 reductions will take place over the next three years. The cuts will mainly affect back-office staff.
The firm is Europe's largest artificial hip and knee manufacturer and also has endoscopy and advanced wound management units. Patients' decisions to defer elective surgery during the economic downturn have been highlighted as an explanation for falling margins. Chief executive Olivier Bohuon has predicted that economic conditions will continue to affect the business.
Media reports state that artificial hip joints with a metal-on-metal design have been under scrutiny following safety concerns about other manufacturers' products. This is a second reason for declining profitability in the firm's artificial hip division. However, the press has reported on assurances from Smith & Nephew that their products are safe and effective.
Sources
2 February 2012: The Financial Times
2 February 2012: Reuters
2 February 2012: Smith & Nephew press release
Citation
Eurofound (2012), Smith & Nephew, Internal restructuring in World, factsheet number 73058, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/73058.
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions.
European labour markets have recovered strongly from COVID-19. By the end of 2021, little more than 18 months after the start of the pandemic, employment rates in the EU were almost at pre-crisis levels.
