When Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley swung by Orr Elementary School in Washington, D.C., recently, he explained to the 100 kids circled around him that he’d already exercised that day.FORT WAYNE – Zimmer Inc. will realign and outsource its information technology work, eliminating 50 internal IT positions, a company official confirmed Monday.
The Warsaw orthopedics manufacturer wouldn’t say what firm will pick up the headquarters’ IT contract. Zimmer is realigning IT work worldwide, spokesman Brad Bishop said in a prepared statement.
The move, he said, is “to better respond to changing business needs and an increased focus on customer responsiveness.”
Affected workers will be given ample notice, severance and outplacement assistance, Bishop said.
“Wherever possible, the company will attempt to place affected employees in other vacancies if they meet position requirements,” he said in the statement.
“As we realign functions and increase certain capabilities, we expect new hiring will more than offset those position eliminations over the next 12 months.”
On April 22, Zimmer reported first-quarter earnings of $205.4 million, a 2 percent increase over the $202.2 million posted for the first three months of 2009. First-quarter net sales were $1.06 billion, a 7 percent increase over last year’s first quarter.
The company, which employs more than 8,000 worldwide, reported total sales last year of about $4.1 billion.
News of the past year hasn’t been all positive, however.
Zimmer slashed more than 100 jobs from its Kosciusko County operation in June 2009. The company employed more than 2,800 in Warsaw before the cuts, part of a 5 percent global-staffing reduction. Zimmer had not cut its workforce since 1997, when it laid off 230 employees.
