ObamaCare: Layoffs and Job Losses

March 31, 2010

This is just a small compilation of stories regarding jobs and Obamacare. Read it and weep. -----lee

Job Losses and Layoffs from ObamaCare:

U.S. employers have warned that President Obama’s government takeover of health care would destroy American jobs and harm our economy. President Obama’s health care law is not yet a week old, but already we’re seeing the real-life impact that ObamaCare’s job-killing tax hikes and health care costs are having on America’s employers.

Medtronic
“Medtronic Inc. CEO Bill Hawkins also tore into the tax. ‘This will make us one of the highest-taxed regions in the world, and that’s going to have an impact on the appetite for people to invest in medical innovation,’ Hawkins told the Wall Street Journal, adding that Medtronic could wind up slashing its workforce by 1,000 to absorb the cost of the excise tax.” (Mass Device, 3/23/10)

Zoll Medical Group
“‘This bill is a jobs killer,’ said Ernie Whiton, chief financial officer of Chelmsford’s Zoll Medical Corp., which employs about 650 people in Massachusetts. Many of those employees work in Zoll’s local manufacturing facility making heart defibrillators. ‘We could be forced to (move) manufacturing overseas if we can’t pass along these costs to our customers,’ said Whiton.” (The Boston Herald, 3/25/10)

Theken
“Randy Theken, founder of a handful of Akron-based spinal implant companies that work under the Theken name, said he, too, expects the tax to slow research-and-development efforts and hurt medical device companies. ‘This could also be the first time in decades that we’ve seen medical device manufacturers having to lay off personnel,’ Mr. Theken said.” (Cran’s Cleveland Business, 3/29/10)

Sallie Mae
“The reforms passed Sunday night as part of the health-care reform package could prompt student lender Sallie Mae — which employs 700 people at a Muncie call center — to cut a quarter of its workforce or close its Muncie office outright. The student lender has estimated it could cut its 8,600-member workforce by as many as 2,500 and reduce its locations nationally from 25 to a half dozen.” (The Muncie Star Press, Sallie Mae Could Cut Workforce, Close Local Call Center, 3/23/10)

“Unless the U.S. Senate acts, the Sallie Mae facility in Lynn Haven likely will start ‘immediate’ layoffs due to health care legislation that keeps private loan providers from originating student loans, officials said Monday. ‘Quite frankly, I’m very saddened,’ said Renee Mang, Sallie Mae senior vice president in Lynn Haven.” (Panama News Herald, 3/22/10)

NOTE: Yesterday we launched the ObamaCare Flatlines highlighting how ObamaCare has forced job-killing taxes on America’s small businesses. Here is an update from last night on Prudential Financial:

Prudential Financial
“Insurer Prudential Financial Inc. said Monday that it will take a $100 million charge in the first quarter in relation to the recent health care overhaul legislation. Prudential joins a growing list of companies that have said they will take accounting charges because of the health care bills.” (The Associated Press, Prudential to Take $100M Health Care Charge in 1Q, 3/29/10)

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