Thread regarding Medtronic Inc. layoffs

"Another example - Medtronic has been teasing a powered circular stapler for years—a product that should have been out long ago if they were keeping pace. It still hasn’t materialized." It will never materialize. I can't tell the inside issues. The prototypes had amazing results many years ago. As I understand it there is no longer new product development in North Haven.

"It didn’t have to be this way." Wrong. Of course it had to be this way. When your top concern is the financials for this quarter, quality and innovation are gone. Medtronic is not run by engineers or scientists or medical folks. It's run by finance people. Get a clue.

ouch - when you have a very public dressing down by a key customer, there is nothign you can do. Can't start a public argument. Cant tell his colleauges he's wrong, they probbably think hes right. Gotta tell the sales team what the right response is when other doctors pick at the scab...

I think you are laboring under a mistaken idea. The idea that Medtronic prioritizes innovation, cost savings, patient safety, and patient satisfaction is certainly an idea, but not a true one. MDT will prioritize actions that maximize short-term profits. If you accept this idea, even on a trial basis, then the pieces of the puzzle fit together incredibly well.

Not related to Medtronic or Quality ---- except it is:

Watch videos on Air India crash and see the massive attempts to divert attention away from the most likely cause --- pilot intentional turned off fuel.

This is and will be the "circle the wagons" issue with off-shoring engineering.

real reason - they offshored - nothing can be done over there without people here telling them exactly what to do - they don't think for themselves they do what they are told

@hg

I think you are correct. If you look at all the new open positions for R&D, quality and software engineering, they are all located in India. The current Medtronic leadership goal is to squeeze as much money as possible before jumping ship when the FDA or the EU auditors come shut this place down.

I see a risk here.
(1) Medtronic tries to "catch" up due to uproar over the posted article by the surgeon and their perception.
(2) But much of the work was outsourced to India.
(3) The onshore talent needed to truly make legitimate gains in "catching up" was laid off.
(4) The offshore workers lack the talent and insight to truly make gains on elevated production goals to counter the views of Medtronic's lack of progress noted by the surgeon.
(5) Behind the scenes, the offshore team may very likely "cut corners" to speed up production since the talent level has dropped to do it correctly.
(6) An FDA compliance audit could spell disaster. That is the elevated "risk" I see based on my 25+ years of experience with medical devices.
(7) Whistle blowers raising issues on the "cutting corners" could become part of RIF.

Things like this get ugly. I'm glad I'm not at Medtronic anymore. To be fair, the surgeon's article gives a chronology such that Medtronic had actually been a good place to work in the 2000s. Maybe they can make a comeback like Apple did when it almost went out in the 1990s. But it would take a radical change of leadership.

Meanwhile, I'm back in academia doing AI research in healthcare. It's fun to do it outside the realm of corporate politics.

Get a grip

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/danny-sherwinter-467a4114a_from-industry-leader-to-afterthought-activity-7350852371519815682-k-lZ