Medtronic to cut worldwide staff by summer, CEO says

Medtronic Inc. CEO Bill Hawkins announced the company will be cutting their workforce in the coming months. The details were not immediately available, but Hawkins says specifics will be provided in May, says the Star Tribune.

The Fridley-based company makes medical devices including pacemakers. Medtronic employs 38,000 people worldwide, about 8,000 of them in Minnesota.

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Earlier this month, Medtronic reported quarterly results that beat Wall Street expectations. However, company executives said some of its businesses may be less resilient in the current economic slump, especially if they involve medical procedures for which patients must pay an insurance copay or deductible.

Medtronic said in a statement it already has implemented a number of initiatives to reduce expense growth, including eliminating merit-pay increases for all employees. Executives also took a 5 percent pay cut, spokesman Steve Cragle said.

Medtronic cut 1,100 jobs worldwide last year, about 350 of them in Minnesota.