Amid the economic fallout from Covid-19, few industries are being spared layoffs. Stratasys Ltd., a 3D printer manufacturer with dual headquarters in Eden Prairie and Israel, announced Tuesday that it is laying off approximately 10 percent of its global staff to create a “leaner operating model.” The company billed it as a “resizing.”
The company did not specify the number of employees affected. But based on its most recent filings, 10 percent of its global staff would be approximately 220 employees. The company stated that its plans “advanced sooner due to the impact of Covid-19.”
According to the company’s annual report, it had a total of 2,268 employees as of December 31, 2019. It’s not clear how many employees the company currently has in Minnesota. The report indicated that it had 1,355 employees in the Americas, which includes Latin America. The company has global operations with employees in Israel, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
The statement issued by the company said, “Stratasys expects the resizing effort, in conjunction with other cost-mitigation measures, to reduce annualized operating expenses by approximately $30 million. The company will incur a charge of approximately $6 million in severance costs, primarily in the second quarter of this year.”
For the first quarter of 2020, the company reported a net loss of $21.8 million on revenue of $132.9 million. Its first quarter revenue was down 14.4 percent compared to the same period a year ago, largely due to a drop in sales of its products.
In recent years, the company’s sales have been steadily declining. In 2015 Stratasys reported $696 million in revenue. For 2019, the company’s sales were down to $636.1 million. The company has posted a net loss for each of its last seven fiscal years.