CEO Robert Parkinson said the move is part of “ongoing efforts to lower cost and drive productivity," adding that it allows the firm “greater efficiency and increases our organizational capacity to pursue growth initiatives.”
Baxter has not said whether the plan will impact jobs, but according to comments by spokeswoman Deb Spak in the Wall Street Journal, the firm will “be evaluating opportunities for additional synergies across the new organization
The firm’s other division, BioSciences, which saw sales fall 4 per cent to $1.4bn in the most recently reported quarter, will continue to operate as an independent unit.