Xerox Corp said on Thursday it plans to cut about 2,500 jobs, or 5 percent of its work force, in a cost-cutting move aimed at saving US$200 million a year.
Xerox, which had 53,600 employees at the end of last year, has already slashed 3,500 jobs starting in late 2008.
The latest job cuts were announced by Xerox chief executive Ursula Burns during a presentation of the photocopier company’s fourth-quarter results.
Burns said some of the job losses would come in Europe but did not give a figure.
She said the restructuring would cost US$280 million this year, with US$30 million related to Xerox’s US$6.4 billion acquisition of Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), the world’s largest diversified business outsourcing firm.
Burns said she expected the ACS acquisition to close next month.
“Once completed, Xerox will be the world leader in business process and document management,” she said.
The Norwalk, Connecticut-based Xerox said net profit rose to US$180 million in the fourth quarter from US$1 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago.
Revenue declined 3 percent to US$4.22 billion, better than the US$3.92 billion expected by Wall Street analysts.
“We delivered a strong close to a difficult year, with solid operational results that reflect our disciplined approach to generating cash and reducing costs,” Burns said in a statement.
“During the fourth quarter, we saw signs of improvement in several areas including developing markets, and we remain quite confident in our strong global competitive position,” she said
“However, we believe revenue will continue to be under pressure until there is a more sustainable economic recovery,” Burns said.
“To help offset this challenge, we remain focused on cost and expense management and sizing our business to better match current revenue levels,” she said.
Xerox shares rose US$0.37 to US$9.26 in trading on Thursday.
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