An official with the Association of Retired Xerox Employees ( ARXE ) says that thousands of former Xeroxers likely got the letters that started going out earlier this month.
The letter talks about returning Xerox to the forefront as a leading technology company, and it says that, “In order to succeed, we must make some difficult, but necessary decisions.”
The letter says that Xerox has just completed an in-depth review of its benefit plans to ensure the plans are aligned with the company’s business objectives and competitive industry practice.
Variations of the letter went out to retirees who were under different plans indicating that either their medical benefits would end after December 31st, or they will have to share the cost of the coverage.
Earlier this year, activist investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason helped force management changes in the company, and the chairman of the retiree association David Coriale, says once Icahn got involved, he figured this change might be coming.
“When he took over the company in May, I went public and said that my biggest concern was how much longer the retiree benefits would last, so this is not a surprise to me, at all,” Coriale told WXXI News.
He also said that this change will be a problem for retirees who had been counting on the health benefits as part of their retirement.
“There are people on fixed incomes, on the old plan and the new plan who will be confronted with just staying on Medicare with its benefits, or having to purchase a supplement or an Advantage plan to supplement Medicare.”
The health benefit change does not affect union retirees’ whose benefits are covered by a contract. A spokesman for Xerox says the company has no comment.
