Medical device maker Welch Allyn Monday announced plans to create a new regional headquarters in the Netherlands and close its German manufacturing plant as part of an ongoing realignment of the company. The company will create an operations center near Amsterdam, Welch Allyn said in a news release. The Netherlands “provides a supportive corporate tax structure,” and has other advantages, the company said. The German plant will be closed and work there will be shipped to an existing plant in Tijuana, Mexico to cut costs, the company said. The closing will begin in October 2013 and take six to 12 months. Welch Allyn will continue to operate its facility in Ireland, but over the next two years will move some of those functions to the Netherlands. The actions are a part of the company’s global restructuring announced in September, said Steve Meyer, president and chief executive officer. The restructuring announced Monday will have no impact on the Skaneateles operations, said Jamie Arnold speaking for the company in an email. In September, the company announced that it would cut 10 percent of its global workforce, including 45 jobs from its Skaneateles Falls headquarters.
