St. Jude Medical to Cut 450 Jobs by End of 2012, Will Relocate CRM Manufacturing Ops

The Little Canada-based medical device company experienced a decline in U.S. sales within its cardiac rhythm management division during the second quarter; moving that division’s manufacturing to Puerto Rico and Malaysia is expected to cut costs. Medical device giant St. Jude Medical, Inc., plans to lay off 450 Swedish employees by the end of 2012 as it moves overseas manufacturing of its cardiac rhythm management (CRM) products—which experienced a sharp U.S. sales decline during the second quarter. “What we see here in the market is that the U.S. CRM market fell into a pothole during the second quarter,” St. Jude President and CEO Daniel J. Starks said in Wednesday conference call with analysts.