ABOUT 280 jobs are under threat after a multinational medical implants company announced plans to stop manufacturing in Yorkshire.
DePuy, one of the world’s leading providers of orthopaedic devices, has said it intends to phase out much of the work at its Leeds site.
The company, part of the Johnson & Johnson group, plans to “rationalise its product portfolio” by focusing on
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the products surgeons and patients need most.
Most of the work currently carried out in Leeds is to be transferred to DePuy’s site in Cork, Ireland, by the end of 2010.
In a statement, the company said: “The withdrawal of manufacturing would affect about 280 employees in operations, quality and support functions at the Leeds facility.
“However, additional employees located at the site in other functions are not affected by this plan.”
The move comes only 17 months after DePuy announced it was closing its Leeds distribution warehouse, with the loss of almost 100 jobs.
DePuy’s worldwide vice-president of manufacturing Patrick Brady said the decision was “based on a combination of factors”.
