Xerox has fallen on hard times, which is partially why Fujifilm is acquiring them in this merger, which will see 10,000 jobs cut. It is not uncommon for redundant positions to be terminated and for fat to be trimmed when companies merge like this, but the restructuring of Xerox will be a tricky one since the copier industry has shrunk dramatically and continues to shrink.
It will be interesting to see what kind of benefit this merger brings to Fujifilm as they hope to reduce annual costs at Xerox by 50 billion yen ($460 million) in the process. This should help cover the losses of $196 million Xerox experience in the quarter ended December, which saw full-year revenues fall by nearly 5%, but will the overall acquisition be a profitable one for Fujifilm?
The Xerox brand will survive and continue to sell printers, copiers, production systems and software for now with combined revenues of about $18 billion across 180 countries, but can Fujifilm turn the company around? Xerox’s CEO Jeff Jacobson believes this merger “will unlock significant growth and productivity opportunities” for Xerox, but what about Fujifilm? Jacobson will serve as CEO of the new Fuji Xerox entity, while Fujifilm Chairman and CEO Shigetaka Komori will be chairman.
We will continue following this story as it develops…
