Drug and medical device great, Abbott Laboratories, decided Thursday to undertake a hefty, four-year restructuring plan in order to reduce monies spent on its medical testing business. The plan includes cutting 1,000 jobs over the next four years (approximately, 100 this year), closing its Pasadena manufacturing site, and eliminating positions at two others. Most of these cut operations will be transferred to Ireland, where the company?s business is booming. The company believes the plan will save about 150 million a year, before taxes. The cuts come in the diagnostic division, which accounted for 12% of Abbott?s total losses last year.
See "Abbott to cut 1,000 jobs in effort to streamline medical testing business", Chicago Tribune, August 21, 2008