March 23, 2020 / By Emily Mavrakis
Exactech, a developer and producer of implants and instruments for joint-replacement surgery founded and headquartered in Gainesville at 2320 NW 66 Court, on Monday laid off 54 employees in Gainesville and nine at its Sarasota operation.
The announcement comes a few days after Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed an executive order prohibiting elective surgeries. Exceptions to DeSantis’ order will be made for procedures that, if delayed, would place a patient’s immediate health at risk or seriously worsen a medical condition. 
Despite years of consistent company growth, the devices Exactech designs and manufactures for surgeries at medical centers worldwide including knee, hip and ankle replacement are suddenly irrelevant — at least temporarily.
Spokeswoman Priscilla Bennett said the company had been cutting costs since the beginning of the month to account for the postponement of surgeries around the world that use its devices, as hospitals rapidly transitioned their focus to treating COVID-19.
These cost-cutting measures included canceling travel, a hiring freeze and a halt on overtime work. However, even paring down to its “most critical operations” was not enough to account for global sale losses, Bennett said.