Medtronic, Inc., which is the world's largest stand-alone medical device company, will cut executive pay by 5% and freeze wages for all other employees beginning in May, the start of its new fiscal year.

The Minneapolis-based company, which currently has 39,000 employees, announced that it may also have to lay off workers.

A spokesman for the company confirmed that Chief Executive Bill Hawkins had addressed employees earlier this week about the cost-cutting initiative and said that Medtronic was reviewing all of its businesses globally.

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