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Posted on 05/23/2012 5:16:09 AM PDT by TurboZamboni
Faced with no growth in two of its key medical-device markets, Fridley-based Medtronic said it would eliminate about 1,000 jobs, including 250 positions in the Twin Cities.
Most of the local job cuts -- which were first disclosed by the company earlier this month -- are in Medtronic's heart rhythm device unit, which is based in Mounds View and makes pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators.
But Medtronic officials also said on Tuesday, May 22, that the company plans to hire 1,500 workers over the next 11 months. Many of the new hires will work in faster-growing markets overseas, but there will also be some hiring in the United States, said Amy Von Walter, a company spokeswoman.
(Excerpt) Read more at twincities.com ...
Medtronic: big time NPR sponsor.
How ironic: “... the company plans to hire 1,500 workers over the next 11 months. Many of the new hires will work in faster-growing markets overseas...”
My aortic pig valve came from Medtronic.....sure hope they don’t pull the warranty or tech support on it.......
:-)
(oink, oink, oink)
This totally ruins your chances of ever becoming "Muslim of the Year".
I predicted this more than a year ago.
Obamacare’s tax on medical devices and the looming imposition of “price controls” means hospitals and other medical groups will not spend greater amounts for “next generation” devices such as dialysis systems.
Instead, the restricted spending will mean only currently approved devices will be replaced by currently approved devices.
Medical device manufacturers will need to squeeze increasing profit from current devices. The best way to do that is to outsource manufacturing to low-cost countries like China and India.
So, the United States loses manufacturing jobs in a very high-tech area and patients will be deprived of devices that result in longer lifespans or reduced fatalities.
Wasn’t aware of that. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a choice in ICD brands when I had to have one implanted for a genetic condition.
Seeing what the two I have gone through cost, I don’t know how they can be struggling financially. $75K a piece, for what is nothing more than a cell phone. Most of it is battery.
“I predicted this more than a year ago.
Obamacare’s tax on medical devices and the looming imposition of “price controls” means hospitals and other medical groups will not spend greater amounts for “next generation” devices such as dialysis systems.”
No problem in the Worker’s Paradise of Minnesota! Can’t they just go on unemployment for several hundred weeks up there? :)
I just love it when they eat their own.
Anywho, if anyone out there in FReeperland has any med devices or other electronics that chew through 9v batteries, I have 50 of them - unused - that I no longer need.
They were intended for a bone growth stimulator that I was prescribed after an auto accident.
They all test at 9.05V, have been stored in a dark/dry cabinet, and someone may as well get some use from them.
FReepmail if you've any interest.
My uncle inherited $30K in 1962 when his mother, my grandmother died. He dumped most if it into a small company near Minneapolis a friend of his recommended. In 2004 when he died it was worth about 2MM
What if I keep it a well-hidden secret? Who would know?
Can I still try?
The one thing the Progressives refuse to believe is that research is a venture capital driven enterprise and if the possibility of profit is removed there will be no money going to research.
This move appears to be nothing but moving the jobs into a cheaper labor market.
Just prepping for obamacare.
Expect to see a lot more of this in the coming months.
Ok, it's just between you, me, and the internet.
If you know anybody in this business they have one word on their lips. “China”.
There is a window of opportunity here to sell lots and lots of product to the ChiComs for a few years before they reverse-engineer it and figure out how to produce their own knockoffs.
Virtually everyone in the business is going for a piece of that pie. They expect Obamacare has shut down the growth curve here.
I'll suggest that you are looking at the cost to you or your insurer after several markups.
Fully-burdened, 1990 costs for a dual-chamber IPG ran ca $120. Two leads at about $150 ea, depending on electrode material (more if a biological sensor parameter were included.) Then add literature, sterile packaging, etc. The cost for the system to a clinic/hospital was ca $5k.
The final cost to a patient for the system - including cath lab/OR and physicians’ fees, was typically $15k.
- - -
R&D development times often exceeded 2 years involving teams of 20-30 people. Then came FDA submissions and clinical trials - typically another 12 to 18 months waiting for ‘approval’
There is considerably more than cell-phone technology inside these devices. Nor is the battery chemistry trivial.
- - -
And as usual, I'll ‘hang up’ and ignore the posts from the hams who tell me how they really work! Freep-mail me and I can recommend a decent book describing the industry as it was through about 2000.
If you saw the red tape they have to go through to get a device approved and then to manufacture it, you would understand the $75K cost.
I don’t consider anything about my ICD trivial. It has saved my life several times over the years from VT brought on by HCM. The ICD programming, along with medication and a couple of ablations has even reversed a lot of my HCM, so my VT is basically non-existent now.
I was only making the point that it is the size of a cell phone, with a lot of the same programming and hardware. The big difference is the battery though and the titanium case. The $75K was just for the device. The surgery to implant it was another $100K. Hard to believe it cost them more than $2K or $3K to produce. I hope they don’t look to outsourcing these devices because of decreasing revenue, due to their own mistakes and increased government involvement.
I understand. I imagine a large chunk of that $75K goes towards liability insurance and the horde of lawyers they have to keep on staff.
Technology is amazing. Unfortunately, lawyers and governments always screw things up.
Maybe they can all get jobs working for Al Franken. He knows everything.
That smacks of the same ignorance leveled toward pharmaceutical companies and the cost of prescription drugs.
Yes, the raw cost of the hardware and assembly might be $2K or $3K, but it fails to recognize other costs.
It ignores the cost of multiple device failures, years of waiting and numerous FDA trials required for certification.
Oh, since this is still the United States and we still have not replaced capitalism, your estimate also ignores a decent profit so your 401K keeps growing.
Global wage arbitrage strikes again.
This Medtronic operation was located in Anaheim, Ca back in the 1980s, IIRC. The SoCal plant closed in 1999 and moved to Minnesota when Medtronic acquired Avecor. California’s high costs and business-hostile environment was surely one reason for the move to Minnesota.
There were alot of medical device companies moving to the Minneapolis area at that time. It was supposed to be the new golden triangle.
RIGHT!!!! LOL!
Show my where I said I am being ripped off and should only have to pay the cost of the components and assembly. If you had actually read all my posts you would have seen that the $2K cost versus $75K price I get charged was a commentary on the broken legal system and government intervention. You would have also seen where I stated I would pay any price for my device as it has saved my life.
I have worked in the mfg industry for 20 years and part of my job is to manage my product’s revenue and margin. I also oversee product development, so I know all about how profit and the cost of R&D works.
I think your statement about the U.S and capitalism smacks of ignorance. I see more capitalism in China than I see here. Granted, the U.S. government doesn’t execute those who disagree with them - yet.
One more thing, I stopped contributing to my 401K years ago. I am already giving enough money to the government.
I apologize! After review, I unfairly interpreted your post.
Sensitive subject for me as well as a trigger finger.
Once again, I apologize.
Wrong division. The ICD was inhouse Medtronic(Fridley, MN) development. Avecor made disposable medical devices for heart and lung bypass surgery and long-term respiratory support. Goodies such as blood pumps, filters, and oxygenators.
You are to be commended. Not very many Freepers offer apologies anymore. I should have been more clear in my first post, because it could have been misconstrued is me complaining about the markup. I got testy in my response as well and am sorry.
What I was really wanting to communicate and failed to do so, was my concern about them outsourcing components to China in the name of increased profits. I know they should be allowed to make as much money as they can, but I would rather pay more for the device, than to cut costs by moving some of the mfg to other countries. Again, my device has saved my life many times, but unfortunately, I don’t get a choice in which ICD brand is implanted. My doc and the insurance decide that for me.
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