Xerox Corp. is cutting $250 million in costs out of its business during the first quarter, representing the large portion of restructuring activities for the year as currently planned.
In the first quarter of 2010, the company expects to report an earnings loss, due to costs associated with its $6.5 billion acquisition of Affiliated Computer Services, which it expects to complete next month.
On Wednesday, Norwalk-based Xerox announced the $31 million purchase of Irish Business Systems, with IBS billing itself as the largest independent provider of digital printing services in Ireland.
Xerox indicated the cuts would be focused on manufacturing, back office, technical services and engineering. A $350 million restructuring announced in the fourth quarter of 2008 resulted in the company jettisoning about 3,500 jobs last year, with Xerox finishing the year with 53,600 workers.
“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,” said Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox, in a prepared statement. “However, we believe revenue will continue to be under pressure until there is a more sustainable economic recovery. To help offset this challenge, we remain focused on cost and expense management and sizing our business to better match current revenue levels.”
Xerox had a $180 million profit in the fourth quarter after barely breaking even a year earlier. Revenue was down 3 percent from a year earlier to $4.2 billion, but it marked the only quarter in 2009 that Xerox sales topped the $4 billion mark.
For all 2009, Xerox more than doubled profits to $485 million, despite revenue falling 14 percent to $15.2 billion.
