Philips to lay off 6,000 workers, company with big losses

Facing financial difficulties, medical equipment and electronics maker Philips has said it will lay off 6,000 workers. The company has been affected by a large number of recalls of defective sleep respirators. Philips laid off 4,000 workers a few months ago.

The company’s chief executive, Roy Jakobs, said Philips had to make the difficult but necessary decision to reduce the workforce over the next two years. “Last year was difficult for Philips and our shareholders. We are taking steps to improve performance,” Jakobs said in a statement. This Dutch company had a loss of 105 million euros in the fourth quarter of the previous year. The company’s loss for the prior full year was $1.6 billion. About two years ago, Philips recalled a large number of its devices used to treat people with sleep apnea. It was feared that these devices would have a negative effect on the health of patients.

Jakobs, who took over Philips in October last year, said the company needed to improve performance, as well as improve work practices and productivity. Philips began as a lighting company over 130 years ago. There have been major changes in this company over the years. It has sold many of its assets and has focused on manufacturing electronic health care products.

Global e-commerce company Amazon also laid off workers from its device group last year. The company plans to cut around 10,000 jobs. These will include the retail and human resources divisions. Amazon executive Dave Limp said in a blog post that the company has decided to downsize its devices unit. He had said: “We are facing an uncertain macroeconomic situation. We have focused more in recent months on the areas that are most important to our clients and businesses.” The Alexa voice assistant is one of Amazon’s best-selling devices. However, company founder Jeff Bezos says these devices are sold at a discount, and sometimes less than cost.