LONDON, ONT. -- Nearly 70 jobs will be lost in the new year when London-based Stryker moves its production to Michigan.
Sources tell CTV News employees at Stryker Medical were notified in mid-August that the company would be closing its doors at their location on Adelaide Street come Dec. 2021.
In a statement to CTV News, Stryker Communications Director Meghan Menz confirmed the planned closure.
“After careful consideration, we have decided to close our London, Ontario, Canada manufacturing facility."
Stryker purchased the Canadian company, CHG Hospital Beds in January of 2015. At the time of the sale, sources say, employees were comforted, knowing a property rental agreement would secure their jobs for at least five years.
Time is up, and Stryker will be moving its manufacturing to its Michigan location.
“We are discontinuing the manufacturing of the low-height beds produced there and anticipate that all operations will cease by the end of 2021,” said Menz. “A limited number of roles will relocate to another location."
It has been a staggered process that has seen nearly a dozen employees, including engineers and research and development teams, let go in the last couple of months.
The London location manufactures the older model ‘Spirit Select’ & ‘Spirit Plus’ beds, which Stryker plans to discontinue in the new year. They also manufacture the parts for the newer models that are being built in Michigan.
Sources say, at the beginning of the pandemic, the line was producing up to 40 beds per day, now that number has been reduced to just 14.
