As a result of the current economic crunch which is being experienced by companies all around the world, one of the world's largest manufacturer of health and wellness products Johnson and Johnson has revealed plans to bring down its current work force by over 7,000 employees.

Currently, the firm has an employee base of 117,000 workers, which, it said, would be axed down by 6-7%. The job cuts have come as a direct result of lower sales as customers cut back on buying products for skin care and beauty amidst recession. The axing of jobs will, as confirmed by the company, save nearly $1.7 Billion by 2011.

Chief Executive Officer of J&J Bill Weldon shared that sales and customer demands are not expected to rise before the economy is stable and unemployment starts declining. Keeping this in mind, the company is forced to take a difficult decision.

Third quarter earnings reported by J&J were disappointing and much less than what the analysts had expected. Also, the rapidly falling customer demand has hurt the firm manifolds. Most of the company's job cuts will be overseas. No confirmations, however, on specific places and departments which will experience axing have been made.