Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 9, 1993 TAG: 9312090125
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: STAMFORD, CONN. LENGTH: Medium
The cuts, aimed at cutting costs and improving productivity, represent about 10 percent of the copy machine maker's worldwide work force. Most will come through layoffs, Xerox said.
The company would not specify how many manufacturing and service sites would close.
It was Xerox's second work-force shrinkage in two years and the latest in a spate of job cutbacks by large American companies, even amid signs that the economy and employment opportunities are improving.
Xerox is considered one of the best-managed U.S. businesses and is noted for its progressive work-place policies. It is making the cuts from a position of strength - a sharp contrast to other big corporations that reduced staffing only after their financial performances worsened.
Xerox Chief Executive Officer Paul A. Allaire said the restructuring should intensify the company's efforts to improve productivity.
He cited third-quarter results, when Xerox reported a 24 percent increase in profits, to $150 million, boosted by a tax credit of $23 million.
"The business conditions that we are experiencing right now are unchanged from that," Allaire said.
"Clearly, it was our view that we were capable of doing these productivity improvements and we needed to do them to be competitive," he said.
Xerox said it also is considering turning over some operations to outside vendors, which would eliminate more jobs.
Xerox shares surged $5.62 1/2 to $86.37 1/2 on the New York Stock Exchange. Analysts said they were surprised by the large number of targeted jobs but praised the restructuring.
"I don't think this is a move to camouflage a seriously deteriorating business, by any stretch," said Jamie Kiggen, an analyst with Prudential Securities Inc. "It's an encouraging sign. It's a sign of a company that has a strong position in its core markets and wants to get stronger."
Xerox said about half the 10,000 jobs will be eliminated in 1994, with the remainder cut in 1995 and 1996. About 500 jobs a year will be cut through attrition, and the company does not plan to offer enhanced severance packages to employees, Xerox spokesman Judd Everhart said.
Allaire said management has targeted certain areas for job cuts and certain plants for closings and consolidations, but is working with its unions before making final decisions. He would not elaborate on the locations, but said everything from clerical to manufacturing to management positions will be cut.
About 54,000 of Xerox's 97,500 employees work in the United States.
The company's main U.S. plants are in Rochester, N.Y., with about 14,000 employees; El Segundo, Calif., with about 4,000 employees; and the Dallas area, where there are about 1,300 employees. Xerox employs about 1,400 people in Connecticut, including about 1,100 in its corporate home of Stamford, and 300 at a sales and customer service office in Hartford.
by CNB