Johnson & Johnson to cut about 3,000 jobs in medical devices

Johnson & Johnson expects to cut about 3,000 jobs over the next two years as the health care conglomerate works to restructure its medical devices business.

The New Brunswick, New Jersey, company says that amounts to more than 2 percent of its global workforce of around 127,000 people and 4 percent to 6 percent of its employee total in medical devices.

The company's actions will lead to annual pre-tax savings of $800 million to $1 billion, much of which will be realized by the end of 2018.

J&J will book a fourth-quarter charge of about $600 million in connection with the restructuring.

The restructuring focuses on its orthopedics, surgery and cardiovascular businesses. It won't affect consumer medical devices, pharmaceuticals or consumer businesses.

Company shares are up in early trading Tuesday.

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