State records show Boston Scientific cut 500 jobs here in August 

State records show Boston Scientific cut 500 jobs here in August

Feb 04, 2013 (Menafn - Pioneer Press - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --Natick, Mass.-based Boston Scientific eliminated 500 jobs in Minnesota back in August, according to a recently posted state record.

The figure, which came from a monthly publication by the state Department of Employment and Economic Development, is the first specific word about how a recent series of job cuts at Boston Scientific have affected the company's local workforce.

The medical device manufacturer makes pacemakers and implantable defibrillators at a division based in Arden Hills. Boston Scientific makes heart stents and other devices at a division based in Maple Grove.

The company's current headcount in Minnesota is about 5,000 people, said Steven Campanini, a Boston Scientific spokesman, on Monday, Feb. 4.

Campanini did not comment on the 500-job figure.

In late January, Boston Scientific announced it would be eliminating 900 to 1,000 jobs this year but did not specify whether cuts would occur in Minnesota. That was also true back in July 2011, when the company announced plans to eliminate 1,400.

Boston Scientific competes in the markets for heart devices against Fridley-based Medtronic and Little Canada-based St. Jude Medical. All three companies have eliminated jobs in the wake of sluggish growth in the sales of heart devices.

Christopher Snowbeck can be reached at 651-228-5479. Follow him at twitter.com/chrissnowbeck

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