Philips announces additional 6000 cuts to workforce to improve profitability

Dutch health technology company Philips says it would cut 6,000 jobs to restore its profitability following a recall of respiratory devices that knocked off 70% of its market value, according to a report by Reuters.

The company confirmed on Monday that half of the layoffs will take place in the year and the other half before 2025.

Philips continues to face financial repercussions from the recall of millions of its ventilators and sleep apnoea machines over worries that foam parts used in the machines might degrade and become toxic, potentially causing cancer.

Since the unfortunate event in 2021, the company confirmed that it had so far replaced about half of the machines that were to be recalled, costing it 900 million euros ($899 million) before any settlement or legal claim costs.

In October 2022, the group said it has seen about 70% ($1.31 billion) of its market value washed off over the past year due to the fallout and consequently announced a 5% (4000) reduction to its workforce in the same month.

This new round of job cuts now brings the total announced by the company to around 10,000, or about 13% of its current workforce as it grapples to reach profitability.

In January alone, tech companies including Microsoft, Alphabet, SAP, IBM, Spotify, Amazon and Salesforce have confirmed plans to reduce their staff numbers amid a tech industry slump.