J&J Orthopedics Subsidiary Lays Off 67

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) subsidiary DePuy Spine, part of DePuy Synthes, recently announced that it will be laying off 67 employees from its facility in Monument, CO, according to an Oct. 30 WARN Act filing. The cuts come as J&J continues its two-year orthopedic business restructuring in a bid to improve its profitability.

DePuy Spine began migrating its supply from its Colorado facility to its Mooresville, IN, distribution center in 2020, after supply chain operation evaluations. This round of layoffs marks the company’s third since July, totaling 92 eliminated positions, and stopping manufacturing at the Colorado site.

The 67 employees effected by the layoff will be officially let go between Dec. 29, 2023, and Jan. 11, 2024.

J&J explained its plans to exit “less profitable” markets and product lines across its orthopedics business by the end of 2025 during the company’s Q323 earning call. As part of the exit, Joe Work, CFO of J&J, said there would be a short-term revenue disruption in orthopedics of around $250 million over the next two years. However, he also noted that he expected the exit would improve J&J’s ability to meet demand, resulting in accelerated growth and enhanced profitability. Total costs associated with the restructuring program, MD+DI previously reported, are estimated to be between $700 million and $800 million.

\"We are on a journey of improvement in orthopedics,\" said Joaquin Duato, J&J CEO, according to a SeekingAlpha transcript of the earnings call. \"We want to be number one and number two in every segment we compete. And that is a place where we are not there yet, but we are very confident that we are going to continue to make improvements by investing and by growing in the highest growth segments.\"