Xerox Corp to cut 2,500 jobs

NEW YORK: Xerox Corp said on Thursday it plans to cut some 2,500 jobs, or five percent of its workforce, in a cost-cutting move aimed at saving some 200 million dollars a year.

Xerox, which had 53,600 employees at the end of December, 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 280 million dollars this year with 30 million dollars related to Xerox's 6.4-billion-dollar acquisition of Affiliated Computer Services, 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 180 million dollars in the fourth quarter from one million dollars in the corresponding quarter a year ago. Revenue declined by three percent to 4.22 billion dollars, better than the 3.92 billion dollars 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."

Xerox shares were trading 4.27 percent higher at 9.27 dollars on Wall Street.