Philips to cut 4,000 jobs as recall losses deepen

Philips is negotiating with US authorities over a final settlement on the faulty devices that put users with sleep apnea at risk of inhaling toxic foam, and faces a number of lawsuits.

Dutch medical device manufacturer Philips said Monday it will slash 4,000 jobs after a massive financial hit for a recall of faulty sleep respirators pushed it into loss.

The 1.3-billion-euro ($1.28 billion) write-down for the defective machines pushed thefirm, which currently has nearly 80,000 employees worldwide, into a net loss of the same amount.

Philips is negotiating with US authorities over a final settlement on the faulty devices that put users with sleep apnea at risk of inhaling toxic foam, and faces a number of lawsuits.

"We do face multiple challenges,"said new chief executive Roy Jakobs, who only took over earlier this month,adding that the firm had to take "immediate steps "to cut costs.

"This includes the difficult but necessary decision to immediately reduce our workforce by around 4,000 roles globally...a decisionwe do not take lightly,"he said in a call with investors.

The job losses would mainly be in the United States, the Netherlands, India and China, he said.

Shares in Philips dropped 0.75 percent on the Amsterdamstock exchange in morning trading.