Intuitive Surgical plans to lay off 331 people in California, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed with the state.
The layoffs are expected to take effect by Oct. 27, and will take place at a facility in Sunnyvale, California. In the WARN notice, Intuitive stated that the company “will cease operations for graveyard and weekend shifts for Ion Instruments & Accessories (I&A) production, as well as related logistics and quality operations activities in Sunnyvale. All roles supporting these shifts will be eliminated.”
The majority of the positions affected are for assembly technicians. California’s database classifies the layoffs as “manufacturing.”
“More specifically, as part of creating a global ‘hub model,’ we are permanently ending graveyard and weekend shift effective October 23 and 24, 2025, respectively, as well as transitioning our work model effective October 27, 2025,” Intuitive said in the WARN letter.
An Intuitive spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the company is transitioning to a new shift schedule to allow its manufacturing teams to coordinate more efficiently.
“As part of this change, we have informed employees of planned adjustments ahead of their implementation,” the spokesperson said in the statement. “Our goal is to retain these employees in roles on the standard shift schedule, however, we understand that roles on the standard shift schedule may not be suitable for some of these employees and we are committed to assisting their transition to alternate employment.”
The cuts come as Intuitive Surgical has reported solid growth and a successful launch of its latest soft tissue robotic system, the da Vinci 5, which has convinced Wall Street that the new product will help the company maintain its dominance over the space despite the emergence of competing robots. In the first six months of the year, Intuitive reported revenue of $4.69 billion, representing 20% growth year over year.
The medtech industry has experienced tens of thousands of layoffs in recent years as companies grappled with macroeconomic factors. While not a major participant in the mass layoffs, Intuitive did cut 72 employees in North Carolina in 2023.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to include a statement from Intuitive Surgical.
