Why did Danaher corp. step up downsizing?
Danaher Corp. plans to step up its restructuring program, eliminating about 3,300 jobs and closing some 30 facilities. At the same time, the industrial conglomerate said it agreed to buy MDS Inc.’s analytical-technologies business and a 50% stake in a joint venture for $650 million. Its shares jumped 28% premarket to $7.50. Danaher will pay Life Technologies Corp. $450 million for the rest of the stake in AB SCIEX, a mass-spectrometry business. In addition, Danaher President and Chief Executive H. Lawrence Culp Jr. said the company is optimistic about “continuing signs of stabilization” in the first two months of the current quarter and is encouraged about sequential improvement in orders at some of its businesses. Danaher — whose operations including making bar-code readers, leak-detection systems and Sears Holdings Corp.’s Craftsman tools — now expects restructuring expenses of $225 million to $250 million this year, aiming to save about $220 million a year. The company previously
