An Italian court has ordered Dutch multinational Philips to replace defective sleep apnea breathing devices by April 30, according to a ruling viewed Friday by AFP. 

The court in Milan ordered the embattled company facing a massive worldwide recall to accelerate its replacement of the faulty machines that should have been completed by December 31, according to the March 30 decision.

Two consumer associations in Italy had sued Philips on behalf of the 100,000 Italian users of the machines for sleep apnea, a disorder in which breathing stops and starts during sleep.

Some 55,000 people in Italy are still waiting for a replacement from Philips, the groups say.

The company faces a fine of €20,000 per day if the replacements are not completed by April 30, the court ruled.

Plaintiffs lawyer Stefano Bertone told Il Corriere della Sera newspaper they had shown "that Philips was fully aware of the problem at least since 2014, but waited until after 2021 to intervene".

The worldwide recall of the company's breathing devices, begun in 2021, contributed to Philip's 2022 loss of €1.6 billion. 

The company faces ongoing investigations and lawsuits in the United States. In late January Philips said it would cut another 6,000 jobs, on top of an earlier announced cut of 4,000 positions.

The devices put users at risk of inhaling possibly toxic foam.

Philips did not immediately respond to a request for comment.