One year after announcing its last round of worldwide layoffs (see “Lexmark Plans to Cut 700 Jobs Worldwide”), Lexmark says it plans to cut 1,000 more jobs over the next year in a restructuring plan the company claims is necessary in order for it to stay competitive.
The Lexington, KY-based company did not provide details about where the layoffs would occur in its July 18 announcement, according to an Associated Press report published by U.S. News & World Report. Lexmark says it has about 9,000 employees and does business in more than 170 countries. Last year, the company reported that it had 10,000 employees.
Lexmark announced the layoffs internally last week, according to the Lexington Herald Leader. “This difficult decision is necessary as we work to align our talent with our strategy and ensure Lexmark’s success going forward,” Emily Rardin, Lexmark’s global communications manager, is quoted as saying in the newspaper report. “We are not providing location-specific numbers or other details.”
The layoffs do not come as a surprise, since Lexmark has struggled to restructure amid falling worldwide printed page usage and rising competition. This past April, Moody’s Investor Service downgraded Lexmark’s debt rating, saying it did not expect the company to improve its performance in 2018 following a weak performance in 2017 (see “Moody’s Slashes Lexmark’s Rating on Fears of Weak Performance”).
In 2016, Ninestar, at the time known as Apex Technologies, led a group of Chinese investors that acquired Lexmark (see “It’s a Done Deal: Apex Has Acquired Lexmark”). In April, Ninestar announced plans to move Lexmark’s printer manufacturing to Zhuhai, China, which involved establishing a joint venture, as well as its plans to become one of the top-three laser printer vendors worldwide within the next five years (see “Ninestar Reveals More about Lexmark Laser Printer Manufacturing Plans”). Ninestar also reported earlier this year that it expects to see profits during the first quarter of 2018 (see “Ninestar Projects Q1 Profit, Discusses Joint Venture for Lexmark Consumables”).
