Philips Israel lays off dozens of employees out of 1,500

Philips Israel lays off dozens of employees. The layoffs at the company, which employs about 1,500 workers in Israel, are part of a worldwide layoff process by the company, which already announced in October its intention to cut 4,000 jobs, which is about 5% of the company.
Most of the layoffs are planned for the USA and the Netherlands, but also for Israel. Philips Israel is engaged in research, development, advanced manufacturing, export, marketing, sales and service of medical equipment and software to improve and save lives. The company is responsible for 25% of all exports of medical equipment and software from Israel in the amount of about NIS 2 billion per year and employs about 1,500 people at several sites in Israel.
Philips stated: "We are facing multiple challenges and after several consecutive quarters of declining sales and profitability while costs are increasing we are forced to take immediate actions to significantly reduce the cost base.
In this regard, we are forced to take a painful but necessary decision to reduce the workforce of about 4,000 jobs all over the world. In Israel we will make sure to act according to the accepted legal processes and with due respect towards the employees who will be affected. While we work in a variety of ways to strengthen the company in challenging times, we are focused on patient safety, quality and supporting our customers."