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Thermo Fisher Reduces Headcount by 655, Takes $31M Charge in H1 2013

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Thermo Fisher Scientific took charges totaling $31.0 million during the first half of 2013 associated with a reduction in headcount of approximately 655 employees, the company said in its Form 10-Q filed on Friday.

In the second quarter, the company took charges of $12.8 million associated with a reduction in headcount of 340 employees, though it is unclear when the headcount reductions occurred.

In the Analytical Technologies segment, Thermo Fisher took a charge of $9.4 million associated with 250 layoffs in the first half of the year, including a charge of $2.5 million in the second quarter associated with 80 layoffs, it said in its document filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company also took a charge of $8.8 million in Specialty Diagnostics associated with a reduction in headcount of 185 employees in the first half of the year. In the second quarter, Thermo Fisher took a charge of $2.3 million associated with a reduction of 110 employees.

And in Laboratory Products and Services, the company reduced headcount by 220 employees through the first six months of the year, resulting in a charge of $12.8 million. It decreased its headcount by 150 employees in the second quarter and took a charge of $9.0 million.

The company has approximately 39,000 employees globally.

In addition to headcount reduction charges, Thermo Fisher, which is in the process of completing its $13.6 billion acquisition of Life Technologies, said that it took a total of $9.4 million in charges during the first half of 2013 across its three segments associated with abandoned facility costs and other cash costs primarily associated with facility consolidation and outplacements costs for severed employees.

The $9.4 million figure includes charges of $6.7 million taken in the second quarter for such costs, Thermo Fisher said in its SEC document.

The company last week reported a 4 percent increase in revenues for its second quarter.

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