Xerox is announcing some restructuring, and the company said on Wednesday that will mean some jobs will be cut.
The company said its new ‘Reinvention and Operating Model’ targets a 15% workforce reduction. The company said that proposed reductions will be subject to consultations with local works councils and employee representative bodies, and the company said it is committed to providing transition support for affected workers.
There was no immediate word on how many jobs in the Rochester area, many of which are in the Town of Webster, would be affected. The company currently employs more than 1,500 employees in the Rochester area.
In the news release issued Wednesday, Xerox CEO Steven Bandrowczak said that the restructuring aligns the company’s resources in three key areas, improvement and stabilization of the core print business, increased productivity and efficiency and revenue diversification.
A statement from a Xerox spokesperson on Wednesday said that while it cannot provide specifics on local layoffs, it is "taking actions this quarter across all levels and areas of our organization, to include Webster."
Xerox's statement also said that the decision to reduce the workforce "was a difficult but necessary step toward establishing long-term viability for Xerox."
Local 14A of Workers United represents about 360 employees at Xerox in the Rochester area. That's according to Gary Bonadonna Jr., manager for the local union. He said at this point, he hasn't received any communication from the company on whether or how many of their workers might be impacted by any layoffs.
Xerox announced some changes in its leadership team and said that Joanne Collins Smee, Executive Vice President and President Americas, and Tracey Koziol, Executive Vice President of Global Offering Solutions and Chief Product Officer, have left the company effective Dec. 31, 2023.
At Brighton Securities, Chairman George Conboy, wasn’t particularly surprised by the need to cut costs.
“Xerox’s revenues have been soft for years, and with the onset of COVID, people staying home and the slow return to the office, have really hurt Xerox in terms of their ability to sell products and services," said Conboy, "So it seems inevitable, we just didn’t expect it today."
This is a developing story. Check back later for more details.
