Siemens begins layoffs at Pennsylvania headquarters

Siemens Medical Solutions has issued 350 layoffs at its Malvern, Pa., headquarters, as part of the 16,750 company-wide job cuts announced by the company in early July.

Approximately 4,000 people are employed at Siemens’ U.S. headquarters.

Lance Longwell, a company spokesman, said that the layoffs in Malvern are in the health services business unit and the healthcare IT operations.

"This action is intended to better align resources to the company's strategic areas of focus and affects less than 10 percent of the work force," Longwell said.

”The employees have been informed and we are working over the coming weeks to transition the affected employees, with the goal to bring it to conclusion by mid-September,” he noted.

Affected employees are being offered first priority selection for open positions within the broader organization, according to Longwell. Each employee is offered a severance program, career services, placement and counseling.

"This does not impact the operations and business goals of the health services business unit and we remain committed to our customers and the community," Longwell said.

In July, Siemens said the cuts were being made in an effort to reduce total costs by $1.8 billion by 2010.

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