Philips has announced it will lay off 300 Respironics employees in the Pittsburgh region, and relocate another 500.

Philips will leave its building in the Bakery Square business center starting in the fourth quarter of 2024 and will move the workers over the next two years into its facilities in nearby Murrysville and New Kensington, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

In June 2021, the company recalled 5.5 million bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines after discovering that the polyester-based polyurethane (PE-PUR) sound abatement foam within them could break down and release particles that could enter a device’s air pathway and become toxic, possibly causing cancer.

In April, Philips was issued a consent decree restricting the production and distribution of new sleep apnea systems at Philips Respironics facilities in the U.S., with limited exceptions, until compliance with regulatory requirements is verified. The decree also necessitates Philips Respironics to implement a Recall Remediation Plan, collaboratively formulated with the FDA, to facilitate relief for affected patients through device replacement, rework, or partial refunds.

The company also reached a settlement agreement totaling $1.1 billion to conclude ongoing personal injury litigation in the U.S.

Respironics, which was purchased by Philips in 2008, was a mainstay Pittsburgh company that invented the first mass-produced CPAP in the nation — and carved out a market share that made it one of the largest makers of sleep apnea devices. At one time, according to the Post-Gazette, Respironics employed more than 4,800 people in the U.S. and around the world, with more than a quarter of its workforce in the Pittsburgh area.

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