[ad_1]
Medical device maker Boston Scientific has confirmed that several employees at its Galway facility are being laid off.
The exact number of job losses has not been confirmed, but the company says it expects the measure to have “minimal impact” on the city’s staffing.
It is understood that in the region of 30 employees will be dismissed at the conclusion of a consultation process. The rest of those affected by the move will be reassigned to other functions in Galway.
The decision comes after the company announced the voluntary recall of a replacement heart valve system earlier this week.
All production, research and development related to the LOTUS Edge aortic valve system has ceased with immediate effect.
The move came after a problem with the device was detected, although the firm says there are no safety concerns for patients who have had replacement valves placed.
Instead, it says the decision was made in light of the investment that would have been required to remedy the identified problems.
Workers in the United States and Malaysia are also affected by the decision.
Boston Scientific employs between 4,500 and 5,000 people in Ireland, of which just under 4,000 work in Galway.
The firm specializes in cardiovascular medical technologies and has had a production plant in the city for more than 25 years.
The company says that a consultation process with the workers in question will continue in the coming days.
Meanwhile, it emerged that Boston Scientific’s Irish business and several overseas affiliates paid a $ 37.42 billion dividend last year.
New accounts show that the group’s pre-tax earnings last year totaled $ 38.1 billion.
The Galway-registered group’s pre-tax profit was primarily the result of a one-off profit of $ 36.9 billion.
The company made the profit through the proceeds from the sale of its intellectual property assets to Boston Scientific group companies.
A dividend payment of $ 37.42 billion followed a dividend payment of $ 1.1 billion in 2018.
According to the accounts that Boston Scientific Ltd just filed with the Business Registry Office, the group’s operating profit increased 57% to $ 1.19 billion last year.
The increase in operating profit followed revenue that increased by 16%, from $ 4.23 billion to $ 4.9 billion.
The group’s corporate tax bill last year nearly doubled to $ 21.5 million.
The accounts show that based on the 12.5% tax rate, the tax bill would be $ 4.768 million.
However, the tax bill was lowered by $ 4.747 billion through ‘different tax rates on foreign earnings’.
According to the directors’ report, sales growth last year was consistent with overall revenue growth for Boston Scientific, in addition to the transfer of additional activity to the entity.
Numbers employed by the company last year increased from 4,467 to 4,881 and personnel costs at the company last year increased from $ 296.55 million to $ 350.16 million.
Last year’s earnings factor in non-cash amortization and depreciation costs of $ 335.39 million and research and development expenses of $ 635 million.
The accounts also reveal that an agreement between IDA and Boston Scientific specifies that the company has a contingent liability to fully or partially reimburse grants received in the amount of $ 29.7 million in December 2019 if certain circumstances, as set out in those agreements , occur within five years of the agreement date.
Directors say the company is involved in a series of initiatives aimed at increasing its gross and operating margin.
The accounts were signed on September 23.
Regarding the impact of Covid-19, the directors state that the pandemic adversely impacted Boston Scientific’s key financial performance indicators for the second quarter of 2020.
However, the company expects a sequential improvement in its financial performance in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the second quarter.
At the end of last December, the group had accumulated profits of 1.4 billion dollars.
[ad_2]