KCI to Cut 300 Jobs

Kinetic Concepts, Inc, also known as KCI, is not a name that many of us know off of the top of our heads, it might be one you know in the back of your mind if you work in the medical technology field,  for those of us who do not here is a look at how the company has chosen to describe itself, “At KCI, we’re committed to helping patients heal. For over thirty-five years, we have led the way in the development of new technologies, medicines and therapies designed to make wound healing more manageable for caregivers and more comfortable for patients around the world. We believe all patients deserve the most advanced treatments available. That’s why our employees are dedicated to developing the best innovations and providing the best service and clinical support in over 20 nations. All over the world, KCI is elevating patient outcomes, lowering costs and delivering the advanced treatments necessary to heal wounds and improve lives.”

Well apparently the company is hoping to do all of that without the help of about 300 of its workers. The company is getting ready to cut back on a sizable number of workers in a mass layoff action that will impact workers in multiple locations. For those of you who are not familiar with the idea of a mass layoff action here is a look at how the federal government defines the term, “The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program collects reports on mass layoff actions that result in workers being separated from their jobs. Monthly mass layoff numbers are from establishments which have at least 50 initial claims for unemployment insurance (UI) filed against them during a 5-week period. Extended mass layoff numbers (issued quarterly) are from a subset of such establishments—where private sector nonfarm employers indicate that 50 or more workers were separated from their jobs for at least 31 days.”

This is the second set of layoffs for the company this year, and these layoffs seem to be part of a serious set of changes by the company to its strategy. The company has also done some switching up of its senior management. In its most recent change the company added a new Senior Vice President with some fairly sweeping responsibilities. Here is a look at the announcement about his appointment, “Kinetic Concepts, Inc. announced today that Mike Mathews has been named Senior Vice President, International. As Senior Vice President, Mathews will have operational responsibility for managing the execution of all commercial business plans in EMEA, APAC and emerging markets outside the Americas. He will help identify new opportunities for expansion, productivity or efficiency improvements to maximize long-term shareholder value. Alongside managing direct business expansion, Mathews will seek partnerships in these markets for technology and innovation.”

So who know, yet more layoffs may be in the cards before the end of the year. It all seems to depend on how the company decides to improve its efficiency and reduce it overall costs, for now only time will tell.