GE Healthcare China Undergoes Major Restructuring: Strategic Review and Workforce Optimization Unveiled

(Source: Yidu Medicine)

Source: Yidu Medicine

On September 19, 2025, two major announcements from GE Healthcare China drew widespread attention in the industry.

First, according to a Bloomberg report, GE Healthcare is working with advisors to explore various options, including selling its shares in the Chinese division. GE Healthcare responded that it does not comment on market rumors, emphasizing its firm commitment to supporting patients in China.According to Caixin, GE Healthcare China is advancing the optimization of its organizational structure, involving some position adjustments in the two core business lines of Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance (MR).

The叠加 of these two pieces of news has triggered widespread speculation about the direction of GE Healthcare's business in China......

Based on the known layoff information, this round involves two major business lines: CT and MRI. Some positions in the CT business line have been eliminated, while the MRI business line denied a 10% layoff rate but admitted to personnel adjustments with a relatively smaller proportion. According to informed sources, the CT business line layoffs mainly focus on sales, marketing, and some support positions.

GE Healthcare China stated that this adjustment is "based on changes in the market environment, aiming to serve customers in a more focused and efficient manner and drive long-term business growth." From a positive perspective, this might be an attempt at strategic transformation by the company. When the market environment changes, eliminating non-core positions allows resources to be allocated toward strategic areas such as advanced CT development and localized production of MRI systems.

For example, its Beijing base has achieved a localization rate of over 50% for core magnetic resonance components produced in China. In the future, if greater breakthroughs can be made in these strategic areas to enhance product competitiveness, it will be beneficial for securing a more advantageous position in the market in the long term. However, what cannot be ignored is that this move will bring significant uncertainty to employees in the short term and may also raise concerns in the market about potential business contraction.

This time, the layoff in GE Healthcare's China region may not be a simple cost-cutting measure, but rather a strategic optimization of the organizational structure and personnel based on changes in the market environment.

In recent years, the anti-corruption campaign in China's medical industry has slowed down the bidding and procurement of medical equipment in public hospitals. At the same time, the continuous technological breakthroughs of domestic high-end medical equipment companies have squeezed the market share of multinational giants like GE Healthcare. Moreover, the rise in tariff costs due to trade frictions has also put pressure on GE Healthcare's business in China. Against this backdrop, selling shares of its China division might be a strategic adjustment choice. By optimizing asset allocation and focusing on more promising and advantageous business areas, GE Healthcare could better address market uncertainties.

From GE Healthcare's 2025 financial report in China, its performance does face certain pressures. In 2024, GE Healthcare's revenue in the Chinese market declined by 15% year-on-year; in the first half of 2025, revenue in the Chinese market continued to drop by 2%. However, despite the overall slowdown in growth, GE Healthcare's position in the Chinese market remains significant.

China is GE Healthcare's second-largest market, generating approximately $2.4 billion in revenue in 2024, accounting for about 12% of the global total; in the first half of 2025, the revenue reached $1.16 billion. Additionally, China is GE Healthcare's largest production base globally, with six major production bases located in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuxi, Tianjin, Chengdu, and Shenzhen.

Among the world's three largest medical imaging giants (GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers, Philips), GE Healthcare has the most factories in China. These figures indicate that GE Healthcare's investment and presence in the Chinese market remain highly valuable. As China’s healthcare market continues to develop and upgrade, GE Healthcare, by optimizing its business structure and enhancing localized R&D and production, still has opportunities to achieve new growth in the future market.

Notably, GE Healthcare is not the only company facing challenges in the China region — on February 19, 2025, Philips (NYSE: PHG) experienced a significant drop in its stock price, with a maximum decline of 13.67%. This decline was mainly driven by the performance in the fourth quarter, particularly the weak results in the Chinese market.

Its total sales in the fourth quarter of 2024 were 5.04 billion euros (approximately 5.27 billion US dollars). Although the figures appear strong, this result failed to meet the analysts' previous expectation of 5.07 billion euros.

Philips' Financial Report for the First Half of 2025 Shows Global Revenue at $8.434 Billion, with a Net Profit of $312 Million. However, Performance in China Remains Weak, Continuing the Previous Decline and Seriously Dragging Down Overall Results.

GE Healthcare's revenue in China was 579 million euros, a year-on-year decrease of 11%. Among various business segments, the comparable sales of the Diagnosis and Treatment business decreased by 4% in the first half of the year, the Connected Care business grew by 5%, and the Personal Health business decreased by 2%. However, the double-digit decline in all segments in the Chinese market offset some growth results in other regions globally.

Previously, Philips CEO Roy Jakobs pessimistically predicted that by 2025, the company's sales in China would drop from over 13% at the beginning of 2020 to around 10%. The performance in the first half of the year undoubtedly moved closer to this forecast. Overall, the continued weak performance in the Chinese market has significantly hindered Philips' global business growth. How to reverse the decline and achieve a rebound in the Chinese market has become an urgent challenge for Philips.

The global healthcare market landscape is being reshaped, and the Chinese market has transformed from a pure growth market into a strategic innovation hub and competitive arena.

In the next few years, multinational healthcare giants will continue to seek a new balance: deepening local integration through collaboration and focusing on their true areas of strength by divesting non-core businesses. This profound structural adjustment will determine who can gain a foothold in one of the world's largest healthcare markets in the next decade.