Zimmer Responds To Letter Critical Of Dover Operations
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Daniel [email protected]
In the letter, the writer, who signs the end of it T. Burd, describes himself as a shareholder.
"I am writing this letter to express my disappointment in your company and the events that have occurred at your Dover Operations recently," the letter states.
The letter is referring to Zimmer's facility in Dover, Ohio.
The letter stated that two to three years ago the Dover operations building was at a standstill because of one product not making the grade.
The letter goes on to state that in 2009, Zimmer laid off "many employees throughout the organization" and that a few handful were brought back in April 2010 to the Dover facility.
Then the employees were brought back to work and laid off again.
"The rest of the existing employees are being moved all over the facility and production has all of a sudden slowed down," said the letter writer.
Zimmer issued a press release Thursday to respond to some of the letter's points.
"Zimmer employs more than 250 people at its Orthopaedic Surgical Products facility in Dover, Ohio, making it one of the largest employers in the area," said the company's press release. "The recent decision to reduce manufacturing staff was a result of decreased production needs - this is not a decision that was made lightly. Zimmer remains fully committed to its Orthopaedic Surgical Products business, as evidenced by the recent hiring of an additional approximately 15 employees into primarily professional level positions at Dover over the last few months."
The letter then cites Zimmer's recent acquisition of Beijing Montagne Medical Devices in China and asks if this means a move of operations overseas.
"Zimmer's recent agreement to acquire Beijing Montagne Medical Device Company Ltd. has no bearing on its workforce decisions at any existing locations," reads the press release. "Emerging markets play a key role in the company's global business strategy, and this acquisition reflects the need to secure local manufacturing and distribution operations to serve the growing Chinese orthopaedic market."
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In the letter, the writer, who signs the end of it T. Burd, describes himself as a shareholder.
"I am writing this letter to express my disappointment in your company and the events that have occurred at your Dover Operations recently," the letter states.
The letter is referring to Zimmer's facility in Dover, Ohio.
The letter stated that two to three years ago the Dover operations building was at a standstill because of one product not making the grade.
The letter goes on to state that in 2009, Zimmer laid off "many employees throughout the organization" and that a few handful were brought back in April 2010 to the Dover facility.
Then the employees were brought back to work and laid off again.
"The rest of the existing employees are being moved all over the facility and production has all of a sudden slowed down," said the letter writer.
Zimmer issued a press release Thursday to respond to some of the letter's points.
"Zimmer employs more than 250 people at its Orthopaedic Surgical Products facility in Dover, Ohio, making it one of the largest employers in the area," said the company's press release. "The recent decision to reduce manufacturing staff was a result of decreased production needs - this is not a decision that was made lightly. Zimmer remains fully committed to its Orthopaedic Surgical Products business, as evidenced by the recent hiring of an additional approximately 15 employees into primarily professional level positions at Dover over the last few months."
The letter then cites Zimmer's recent acquisition of Beijing Montagne Medical Devices in China and asks if this means a move of operations overseas.
"Zimmer's recent agreement to acquire Beijing Montagne Medical Device Company Ltd. has no bearing on its workforce decisions at any existing locations," reads the press release. "Emerging markets play a key role in the company's global business strategy, and this acquisition reflects the need to secure local manufacturing and distribution operations to serve the growing Chinese orthopaedic market."
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