Xerox is cutting some manufacturing operations in Webster. The company announced on Tuesday that effective June 30, it will end its print engine manufacturing operations at that plant.
Company spokesperson Justin Capella tells WXXI News that the Webster plant will act “as a spare parts facility” and continue to manufacture Xerox toner and photoreceptors.
Capella said he could not confirm specific details on how many jobs this will affect, but said the company is working closely with union representatives and is committed to providing support for affected workers.
There are currently nearly 1,500 people employed at the Xerox Webster campus. There's no indication what the latest announcement may do in terms of reducing that number.
Gary Bonadonna Jr., who is a union official with Workers United of the Rochester Regional Joint Board, released a statement saying that “it is tragic news that these manufacturing jobs in Webster have reached end of production.” He said that members of Local 14A have been “proud to manufacture” the production print engine systems for many years.
Bonadonna said the union contract will soften the blow somewhat providing severance and supplemental income in other cases. But he said that whether workers leave voluntarily or involuntarily , "is simply heartbreaking."
The reduction in the workforce in Webster is related with an announcement from Xerox in early January that it would be targeting an overall 15% workforce reduction as part of a move to simplify its core products and putting an even greater focus on technology in areas such as workflow automation and intelligent assistant services.
The news about the Webster plant came on the same day that Xerox reported a drop in profits and revenues for its first quarter. On Tuesday, the company reported a net loss of $113 million compared to a profit of $71 million a year ago.
Revenues totaled $1.5 billion, which was down about 13% compared to the first quarter of 2023.
In a statement, Xerox CEO Steve Bandrowczak said that, “this quarter, Xerox orchestrated one of its most intense periods of structural change in recent history.” He said that the company implemented changes to align the company more closely with its buyers’ needs and improve efficiency.
Bandrowczak added that, “While results were below our expectations in Q1, I have full confidence we have the right team and the right strategy to execute Xerox’s Reinvention and deliver on our adjusted operating targets.”
At Brighton Securities, Chairman George Conboy said that, “Even if we take out the restructuring charge of $100 million, they still lost money on all of their businesses. And each one of their three categories of sales were down. That’s a tough quarter.”
Xerox released guidance indicating the company expects to see a revenue decline in 2024 of 3% to 5%.
