Abbott to cut about 1,200 jobs

Abbott Laboratories plans to cut about 1,200 jobs in California and Ireland, trimming costs in the division that makes heart stents and other devices to treat blood vessels.

Abbott, based in Libertyville Township, will close a plant in Galway, Ireland, eliminating about 500 positions, and cut about 700 jobs at a plant in Temecula, Calif., company spokesman Scott Stoffel said today.

The company's loss on vascular devices, including the stents, more than doubled during the third quarter even while revenue increased. Abbott is awaiting a decision by U.S. regulators on whether to approve the Xience, a new generation of drug-coated stent, a wire mesh tube used to hold arteries open after they've been unclogged.

"We're right-sizing our vascular division," Stoffel said. "The changes are a result of overcapacity due to significant improvements in manufacturing efficiency and current market conditions."

Stoffel declined to say how much the moves would cost initially or save over the long run. Those figures will be released when Abbott reports fourth-quarter earnings in January, he said.

The vascular division's operating loss grew to $52 million in the third quarter from $22 million a year earlier, company filings show. Revenue increased 15 percent to $403 million. The division also makes stents used to clear blockages in the neck.

Abbott obtained Xience when it purchased Guidant Corp.'s stent business for $4.1 billion in April 2006. Abbott currently has 65,000 employees worldwide, according to its Web site.

Abbott rose 54 cents, or almost 1 percent, to $57.47 at 1:55 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The company has gained 18 percent this year.