A medical device manufacturer that supplied syringes and needles for the country’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout reduced its workforce by 22% as domestic production needs slow, it reported last month.
Retractable Technologies implemented layoffs that most directly affected workers in its production, operations and logistics departments, according to a release. The Texas-based company expects to save roughly $1.7 million a year once an estimated $150,000 in separation costs is paid to employees.
This is the second round of job cuts Retractable Technologies has carried out in the past year. It slashed 16% of its workforce in June 2022, after fulfilling federal contracts related to COVID-19.
The safety needle maker’s three government supplier contracts totaled $138 million, according to a ProPublica tracker on federal purchases to fight the coronavirus.
Retractable Technologies also signed a $27.3 million deal with the Defense Department and Human Health Services in May 2021 to expand production capacity of safety syringes and needles capable of extracting 20% more COVID-19 vaccine doses from vials.
The company still expects to meet current demand for its products following the layoffs and will continue to have “significant production capacity,” according to the release.
Other medical device makers including Baxter, Abbot and Thermo Fisher are also reducing headcounts in an effort to rightsize operations amid waning pandemic-related demand for tests and other products.
