Xerox cuts 15% of global workforce

Shares tumble after announcement

It’s not the best start to 2024 for Xerox which also confirmed a cyberattack at its subsidiary XBS

Xerox announced yesterday that it would be removing 15% of its global workforce which amounts to approximately 3,000 redundancies.

The cuts will form part of a plan for "reinvention" of the company along with a new organisational structure and operating model. The cuts will happen in the first quarter of this year.

Shares in Xerox, the name of which was once synonymous with photocopying, fell 12% following the announcement.

In a statement, Steven Bandrowczak, Xerox CEO said:

"The evolution of Xerox's Reinvention aligns our resources in three key areas - improvement and stabilization of our core print business, increased productivity and efficiency through the formation of a new Global Business Services organization, and disciplined execution in revenue diversification.

"The shift to a business unit operating model is a continuation of our client-focused, balanced execution priorities and is designed to accelerate product and services, go-to-market, and corporate functions' operating efficiencies across all geographies we serve."

Cyberattack at XBS

2024 hasn't started well for Xerox. In addition to announcing restructuring and layoffs the company also recently confirmed that its US subsidiary Xerox Business Solution (XBS) had been the subject of a cyberattack right at the end of last year. XBS (formerly Global Imaging Systems until its acquisition by Xerox) offers a range of products and services, from managed IT and print services, to Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions.

The INC Ransom ransomware gang added Xerox to its extortion portal on 29th December, with a claim to have exfiltrated sensitive data and confidential documents including financial information from the corporation.

Xerox said the attack was isolated to XBS in the US and has since been contained.

"We are actively working with third-party cybersecurity experts to conduct a thorough investigation into this incident and are taking necessary steps to further secure the XBS IT environment," Xerox's statement read. "The incident had no impact on Xerox's corporate systems, operations, or data, and no effect on XBS operations."

However, the statement did acknowledge that a preliminary investigation indicated that "limited personal information" may have been compromised during the attack.

"As per our policy and standard operating procedure, we will notify all affected individuals as required," the statement added. "The data privacy and protection of our clients, partners, and employees are our highest priority."

Researchers observed the fact that INC Ransom removed Xerox from its portal at some point in the last two days - an indication that the two groups are presently in negotiations.