Stryker Solidifies Plans for Layoffs

Joining Zimmer Holdings, Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Stryker Corp. is now carrying out its promise of layoffs in preparation for the seemingly inevitable device tax set to begin in January 2013. The company is eliminating 107 positions and closing two New York manufacturing facilities.

The plants, which are used by Stryker subsidiary Gaymar Industries, will be closed by the end of the year. According to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice filed by the company with the U.S. Department of Labor, 11 workers will be affected at the West Seneca plant and 96 at the Orchard Park. The layoffs will begin on September 21 on a rolling basis, and both plants will turn off their lights completely on December 31.

The orthopedic device behemoth first announced plans for layoffs in December 2011, and at the time articulated the intention to reduce costs by $100 million in order to offset the cost of paying the upcoming 2.3 percent medical device excise tax.

Gaymar Industries produces acute care technology for patient temperature and pressure ulcer management. In 1977, the company established Medisearch PR Inc. in Puerto Rico to supplement the New York operations. That facility will remain open and functional.