Philips cuts 6,000 more jobs after sleep device recall

Philips layoffs Embattled Dutch medical tech maker Philips said on Monday it will slash 6,000 more jobs worldwide after fresh losses caused by a massive recall of faulty sleep respirators.

Chief Executive Roy Jakobs announced the "difficult, but necessary further reduction of our workforce" by 2025, which comes just three months after it announced another 4,000 cuts.

The Amsterdam-based firm unveiled net losses of 105 million euros ($114 million) for the fourth quarter of 2022 and 1.605 billion euros for last year as a whole, largely due to the recall.

Philips announced a global recall in 2021 of its appliances to treat people suffering from sleep apnoea and now faces a number of lawsuits in the United States.

This followed concerns patients risked "possible toxic and carcinogenic effects" if they inhaled or swallowed pieces of degraded sound-dampening foam on the machines.

Starting off as a lighting company more than 130 years ago, Philips has undergone major changes in recent years, selling off assets to focus on making high-end electronic healthcare products.