Siemens Healthineers announced plans to build a new MRI component manufacturing facility in the UK that will add significant jobs.

The company plans for the plant in North Oxfordshire to design and manufacture superconducting magnets used in MRI scans. Siemens Healthineers aims for the technology to minimize the use of helium, making scanners lighter, easier to install and more sustainable.

Its total investment in the facility comes to $314 million and it expects to support more than 1,300 skilled jobs. That includes the retention of more than 600 jobs at a currently existing Oxfordshire facility in Enysham.

Siemens Healthineers says construction has begun on the 56,000-square-meter site, which would become the UK’s first major production site for its DryCool technology for reducing helium in MRI scanners from 1,500 liters to under a single liter. The company plans for the carbon-neutral facility to open in 2026.

The plant features high-end manufacturing automation technology and additional capacity to meet the rising demand for MRI products. It includes an R&D hub for designing and manufacturing small and lightweight whole-body scanners.

Siemens Healthineers says the facility becomes one of six current and planned manufacturing sites in the UK. The company also intends to renew education commitments to teh local community. That includes mentoring services and apprenticeships.

“As a world leader in medical imaging, we are very proud to open the next chapter of our history here in Oxford,” said Bernd Montag, Siemens Healthineers CEO. “This factory will be the global center for our innovative low-helium magnet technology, meaning we consume far less of a scarce natural resource and enable access to MRIs for many more patients.”

Siemens Healthineers adds jobs after cutting some in the last 12 months

The company’s announcement of additional jobs follows an up-and-down year that included a significant number of job cuts. The most recent cuts came in March when Siemens Healthineers announced plans to close its Fast Track Diagnostics Unit. That move affected just shy of 100 workers.

Siemens Healthineers closing Fast Track brought its headcount cut total to more than 450 over the past year. The company eliminated 67 roles at a diagnostics facility in Flanders, New Jersey, in June 2023, then confirmed the layoffs of 300 employees at its Morris, New Jersey location in November 2023.

We compiled a list of the layoffs that have hit medtech over the past couple of years here.