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Boston Scientific to close plant, send 1,400
jobs to Costa Rica
By Scott Andron, McClatchy Newspapers
Medical-products manufacturer Boston
Scientific will close its plant in Doral,
Fla., eliminating 1,400 jobs by 2012,
Miami-Dade economic development officials
said Friday.
The company is transferring the plant's work
to a vacant facility in Costa Rica, where
labor costs are much lower, said Frank Nero,
president of the Beacon Council, Miami-Dade
County's economic development agency.
The news is a blow not only because of the
lost jobs but also because the Beacon
Council has been targeting life sciences
companies and jobs for recruitment to the
county.
The company didn't return calls for comment
Friday. Based in Natick, Mass., the company
makes medical devices used by doctors in
fields ranging from gynecology to urology to
oncology. Last year's sales exceeded US$8
billion.
Boston Scientific is at least the third life
sciences company to announce plans to ship
jobs from South Florida to Latin America in
the past year.
BSN Medical disclosed in April that it was
closing its FLA Orthopedics plant in
Miramar, Fla., laying off 163 workers and
sending most of their work to Reynosa,
Mexico. The plant made orthopedic support
products, such as those used by patients
with broken limbs.
Three months earlier, Johnson & Johnson said
it was eliminating 159 jobs in Miami Lakes
and transferring their work to Ciudad
Juarez, Mexico.
The plant belonged to the company's Codman
Neurovascular unit, which makes medical
devices such as stents and catheters.
If Friday's news of the plant closure has
any silver lining, it's that the Beacon
Council learned of the plan well in advance
and can use the time to market the factory
to other potential employers.
The council also will work with South
Florida Workforce, a state-supported
employment agency, to help workers find jobs
with other area life science firms.
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