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Medtronic Inc. will eliminate 1,500 to 1,800 jobs by the end of June, including about 600 of the company’s 8,000 employees in Minnesota.

The medical technology firm, which operates a manufacturing facility in Tempe, said the cuts will include approximately 400 U.S. employees who have accepted early retirement or voluntary separation agreements. Those employees will leave the company May 29.

Medtronic spokesman Chuck Grothaus said the cuts are part of a restructuring plan the company first discussed in February based on concerns about the economy. He said the move was made to “make sure we’re aligned with an adequate number of employees in our business units that are growing versus those that have kind of stabilized over the past year.”

Medtronic also said it is still hiring — it plans to add approximately 700 jobs during its fiscal 2010, primarily in sales and research and development.

The restructuring announcement came after the company released its fourth-quarter and full-year 2009 financial results.

Fourth-quarter net earnings were $250 million, or 22 cents per share, down 69 percent from $812 million, or 72 cents per share, in the comparable period last year.

The company reported net sales of $3.83 billion in the fourth quarter, down slightly from $3.86 billion a year ago.

For the year, Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) had net earnings of $2.29 billion, or $2.04 per diluted share, in 2009. That’s up 2.7 percent from $2.23 billion, or $1.95 per diluted share, in 2008.

Net sales came in at $14.6 billion in 2009, up 8 percent from $13.52 billion the previous year.

Looking forward, Medtronic said it anticipates earnings of $3.10 to $3.20 per share for 2010, with revenue growth of 5 percent to 8 percent.