Johnson & Johnson plans to cut up to 7 percent of global workforce – MedCity Morning Read, Nov. 4, 2009

NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey – Health-products behemoth Johnson & Johnson announced Tuesday that it will cut 6 to 7 percent of its workforce, which amounts to as many as 8,200 jobs, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The cuts are expected to result in a savings of $800 million to $900 million in 2010. Beginning in 2011, that number will jump to at least $1.4 billion a year, according to a statement released by the company, which sells everything from baby shampoo to over-the-counter medicines.

“Today, we are announcing a series of actions and plans designed to ensure that our company remains well-positioned and appropriately structured for sustainable, long-term growth in the health care industry,” CEO William C. Weldon said in the statement.

In a conference call Tuesday morning, CFO Dominic Caruso said the restructuring estimates “are not targeted to a specific response to U.S. health-care reform,” the Journal’s Health Blog reported.

Later in that call, Weldon said, “I don’t really think we can comment on health-care reform,” according to the Journal. “This really is not aimed at addressing health-care reform.”

More stories worth a read:

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• Why health insurance charges are going up (Forbes)
• Individual mandates in reform bills have serious flaws (BNET)
• Abortion issue slows progress of health care bill in House (CQ Politics)
• College of Nursing receives $1.063 million Kellogg grant to promote oral health (University of Akron)
• 102-year-old retired physician pledges $750,000 to support communicable disease research (Case Western Reserve University)