(Reuters) - Baxter International Inc (N:BAX) said on Tuesday it plans to cut about 1,400 jobs worldwide, or about 5 percent of its non-manufacturing workforce, as part of a broad effort to reduce costs and boost profits.
About two-thirds of the job cuts are planned for outside the United States, with the lay-offs to be completed by the end of the year, Chief Executive Bob Parkinson said on the company's third-quarter earnings call.
The reduction is expected to save about $130 million (85 million pounds) a year, he said.
The hospital products maker reported third-quarter net profit of $1 million, or zero cents a share, down from $468 million, or 86 cents a share, a year ago. Profit was reduced by costs related to the July spin-off of the company's pharmaceutical operations into Baxalta (N:BXLT).
Earnings from continuing operations, excluding items, of 41 cents a share topped analyst expectations.
Baxter shares rose 1.75 percent to $36.54 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.