Deerfield's Baxter to cut 1,400 jobs worldwide
On the same day that Deerfield-based Baxter International Inc. beat Wall Street estimates, the medical device maker said it plans to cut about 1,400 positions worldwide.
The cuts come after Baxter spun off its Bioscience business, called Baxalta Inc., in July.
"We are aligning our infrastructure with our new status as a stand-alone medical products company to better support our business portfolio and advance our priorities," Baxter spokeswoman Deborah Spak said Tuesday.
The announcement came when Baxter reported its third-quarter profit of $1 million. The medical device maker posted revenue of $2.49 billion in the period, beating Wall Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.46 billion.
The company said it had net income of less than 1 cent on a per-share basis. Earnings, adjusted for nonrecurring costs and to account for discontinued operations, were 41 cents per share. The results topped Wall Street expectations.
For the current quarter ending in December, Baxter expects its per-share earnings to range from 30 cents to 32 cents.
Spak said the 1,400 positions are nonmanufacturing and are about 5 percent of its global workforce.
As of June 30, Baxter had about 50,000 employees globally, including 15,000 in the United States and nearly 4,800 in Illinois, Spak said.
She said the cuts "have occurred across Baxter's global operations, with no particular locations impacted more significantly."
Two thirds of Baxter's global workforce is located outside the United States, she said.
"Keep in mind that in Northern Illinois in particular, with the spinoff, the Baxter/Baxalta employee population has increased over the last few years, so even with this reduction, the combined Baxter and Baxalta employee population in Northern Illinois has grown."
The job cuts are expected to save about $130 million annually, she said.
• Associated Press contributed.