Under-pressure Dutch medical techmaker Royal Philips NV yesterday said it has set aside 575 million euros (US$632.74 million) to resolve expected lawsuits in the US, resulting from its massive recall of faulty sleep respirators.
The Amsterdam-based firm said it was a defendant “in several class-action lawsuits and individual personal injury claims” in the US due to safety issues with the device.
“This quarter, Philips Respironics recorded a 575 million euro provision in connection with the anticipated resolution of the economic loss class action,” Philips said as it announced its first-quarter results.
The move is “an important step in addressing litigation to the recall,” it said.
The provision is largely for the 583 million-euro net loss posted for the first three months of the year, Philips added.
Once famous for making lightbulbs and televisions, among other products, Philips in the past few years sold its subsidiaries to focus on medical care technology.
However, it was forced to issue a global recall in 2021 of devices that help people suffering from sleep apnoea, a disorder in which breathing stops and starts during sleep.
Philips said sound-dampening foam in the machines could degrade, causing people to inhale or swallow pieces of the foam with “possible toxic and carcinogenic effects.”
The recall hit the 132-year-old company hard, and by January it had announced it was slashing 10,000 jobs.
The company yesterday said it has cut 5,400 jobs so far.
“I realize that we are asking a lot from our employees to work through the necessary changes,” Philips CEO Roy Jakobs said.
Philips said to date more than 95 percent of the new replacement devices and repair kits for fixing registered devices have been produced, with the “vast majority” having been sent to customers and home care providers.
“Resolving the Philips Respironics recall for patients remains our highest priority,” Jakobs said.
Philips’ first-quarter sales increased by 6 percent to 4.2 billion euros.
“We are confident in our plan for the year 2023, acknowledging that uncertainties remain,” Jakobs said.
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
TECH WAR CONTINUES: The suspension of TSMC AI chips and GPUs would be a heavy blow to China’s chip designers and would affect its competitive edge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is reportedly to halt supply of artificial intelligence (AI) chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) made on 7-nanometer or more advanced process technologies from next week in order to comply with US Department of Commerce rules. TSMC has sent e-mails to its Chinese AI customers, informing them about the suspension starting on Monday, Chinese online news outlet Ijiwei.com (愛集微) reported yesterday. The US Department of Commerce has not formally unveiled further semiconductor measures against China yet. “TSMC does not comment on market rumors. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
US President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to complete CHIPS and Science Act agreements with companies such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, aiming to shore up one of its signature initiatives before US president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. The US Department of Commerce has allocated more than 90 percent of the US$39 billion in grants under the act, a landmark law enacted in 2022 designed to rebuild the domestic chip industry. However, the agency has only announced one binding agreement so far. The next two months would prove critical for more than 20 companies still in the process
RSS