Zimmer Biomet is laying off 3% of its workforce as part of a global restructuring that is expected to save the company $200 million by 2025, according to a statement to the Warsaw Times-Union published Feb. 5.
Layoffs are happening to back office staff, Zimmer Biomet Ivan Tornos said in a fourth quarter earnings call. The company has more than 18,000 employees globally.
"It's a tough choice … but we needed to make operational changes to simplify our structure, to deliver greater efficiency and to ensure that we are enhancing investments in the right areas of the business, again closer to the customer," Mr. Tornos said, as transcribed by Seeking Alpha. "[It's] not an easy thing to do, but something that we had to do and something that we have done."
Costs of the restructuring plan include "employee termination benefits; contract terminations for facilities and sales agents; and other charges, such as consulting fees, project management expenses, retention period salaries and benefits and relocation costs," the company said in its fourth quarter earnings news release.
News of the layoffs and restructuring come on the heels of a 2023 that Mr. Tornos described as "a great year for our company."
Zimmer Biomet on Feb. 8 posted fourth-quarter sales of $1.9 billion, a 6.3% increase year over year. The company's full-year sales for 2023 hit $7.4 billion, up 6.5% from 2022 sales.