Xerox confirms Dublin activities under review

Printing technology giant Xerox has confirmed that parts of its Irish operations located at Ballycoolin in Dublin are under review, but it said no decision had been taken on any job losses this might entail.

Xerox employs 1,340 people at Ballycoolin and another 377 at a manufacturing site in Dundalk. It is understood that the operations in Dundalk are not part of the current review. The review is said to be in its early stages and will be completed in "the first few months of 2007", when the impact on employees will be announced.

Xerox said in a statement that the review related only to some of its activities, but it has declined to say which parts of the business will be affected.

The company carries out a range of pan-European functions in Dublin, including product support, provision of managed services, financial services, governance and treasury. It also has a sales and marketing group located there for the Irish market.

The largest unit is the European customer support call centre, which employs approximately 600 people. It serves 14 European countries in 11 languages and handles about five million calls a year.

An IDA Ireland spokesman said it seemed possible that some jobs would be relocated to a low-cost location such as eastern Europe, but said it was optimistic that a significant number of higher value roles would be retained.

He said that, once Xerox had conducted its review, IDA Ireland would discuss with it the implications of any lay-offs, such as the repayment of grants that are contingent on job creation. Not all jobs at Ballycoolin have been grant-aided and the spokesman that the level of grants that Xerox received was not at a "particularly high level".

Xerox has had a tough time making the transition globally from a hugely successful photocopier company to one that can compete in the digital age. The company had to make significant investments in new technology in recent years, which led to poor financial results as it changed its mix of products.

The company recently seems to have turned a corner. Last week, ratings agency Moody's raised its credit rating to investment grade, citing the company's stable profitability and cash flow.

In September this year, Bob Horastead, director and general manager of Xerox Ireland, said he expected to add another 50 to 100 staff over the next year at the company's office services division, which provides document management and printing services to corporate clients.

"It is normal business practice for any company to evaluate, on a continuous basis, ways in which it can maximise efficiency and improve value to its customers," the company said yesterday.