Johnson & Johnson announced on Tuesday, Jan. 19, that it will be laying off 3,000 medical-device jobs. The move is part of the company's efforts to revive the struggling business and to generate $1 billion annual cost savings.

Johnson & Johnson's medical-device division comprised a majority of the company's structure. According to Wall Street Journal, the company boosted its sales growth through the fast-growing sales of artery-opening stent, knee-replacement parts and other surgical tools while its prescription-drugs and consumer-health businesses weakened.

Unfortunately, the overall market for medical devices has slowed. The company decided to eliminate 2.5 percent of its 127,000 employees globally and as much as 6 percent of its medical-device unit. The cut is also expected to save between $800 million and $1 billion annually before taxes.

The company's spokesperson Ernie Knewitz also explained that the job cuts are connected to Johnson & Johnson's orthopedics, surgery and cardiovascular operations. However, he emphasized that there are no immediate plans to eliminate specific products, Reuters noted.

The company's statement revealed that the firm's Consumer Medical Devices businesses, Vision Care and Diabetes Care will not impacted by the move.

"As a market leader, we are committed to leveraging our breadth and scale to shape the future of the medical device industry, for the benefit of those we serve," Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Worldwide Chairman Gary Pruden said. "The bold steps we are taking today are to evolve our offerings, structure and footprint and increase our investment in innovation."

"These actions recognize the changing needs of the global medical device market and will deliver more value to customers, increasing our competitive advantage and driving growth and profitability for our business," he added.

Aside from the company's medical-device business, Johnson & Johnson suffered from a stronger dollar, dragging down its revenue by 8.2 percent, USA Today reported. Patent expirations and increased competition for many of its prescription drugs, particularly its hepatitis C treatment Olysio have also affected the company.

While the layoffs aim to reshape the company to accelerate growth, the company also said it doesn't expect the restructuring to affect its plans to buy back $10 billion in stock or any future acquisitions.

The company added that further commentary about the restructure will be reported during its fourth-quarter earnings conference on Jan. 26. Fortunately, the company's shares were up 0.8 percent at $97.75.

Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson has also announced that they will use a new format regarding the reporting of sales in its medical devices division while historical sales results in the new format are also available.