Biomet To Shutter Swiss Facility, Cutting 260 Jobs
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Staff Report-
Warsaw-based Biomet is preparing to close a manufacturing facility in Le Locle, Switzerland, according to a company statement. The facility is slated to wind down by June, with dismissals of about 260 employees to occur after that time. Biomet intends to transfer production from the plant in the Jura Mountains, bought from Johnson and Johnson last year, to other facilities within its global manufacturing network and to other Biomet-certified sources, according to the release, and will explore other options for affected employees where possible. Biomet claims that the closure is in response to declining global prices for medical devices and other economic challenges, requiring cost-efficiency measures in its global manufacturing operations. The company reported a net loss of $382 million in the fiscal year ending May 31, according to the Journal Gazette, though that was an improvement over the net loss of $459 million the previous fiscal year. Biomet’s private equity owners have been reported as seeking to sell their stake in the company or to take it public. According to the Geneva Tribune, trade union Unia requested that the government appoint a mediator to represent employees in layoff negotiations. The union described the severance terms proposed by the company as “unacceptable” in a July 18 statement, and decried Biomet as “a slot machine for its owners” which “emptied the group of a large part of its substance” to maximize profits.
