Xerox has notified all 325 employees at its Redmond, Wash., facility that their jobs will be cut by the beginning of May this year, the company confirmed today. The Redmond office currently houses a Xerox customer care center, which provides telephone support to one of Xerox’s large customers.
The cuts are due to the “winding down of the business unit” in Redmond because of that client’s changing business needs, the company said in a statement. Xerox declined to name its client, but said that the company will continue to work with them, offering customer support from other Xerox facilities around the nation.
Everyone currently employed at the Redmond facility will leave as support center operations are shut down, though Xerox will keep its lease on the property, which runs out in March of 2019, spokeswoman Coco Salazar said.
The company hopes that the facility will again be needed to serve Xerox customers, though it has no current plans with any of its clients, she said.
The layoffs included support agents and their support staff, as well as supervisors and trainers, Salazar said. The affected employees were notified either in person or by phone, she said, depending on whether they were present in the office on the day the cuts were announced. Cuts are effective May 6 of this year.
The company made the decision to give employees just under three months notice to give them enough time to make other arrangements, which includes the possibility of taking another position with Xerox elsewhere, Salazar said. Redmond employees will not automatically be relocated to a different facility, though, they will need to apply, she said. Xerox also will provide assistance to employees as they look for new jobs, she said.
Here is the official statement from Xerox:
Unfortunately, we have made the necessary yet difficult decision to wind down the business unit at our Redmond operations. This decision is not associated with Xerox’s previously announced decision to separate into two independent companies.
We realize this affects individuals, and every effort is being made to ensure that all employees are treated fairly. Affected employees will have the opportunity to apply to other positions within the company. We will provide job-search assistance as employees seek new jobs within and outside of Xerox. We will also provide a separation package to those who qualify.
The split referenced in the statement refers to Xerox’s recent announcement that the company will be divided into two separate companies, one that will handle corporate document transactions, and another that will run its traditional copier and printing business. The split will be completed by the end of this year. It’s a move to make the company more lean, Xerox told CNN Money.
Xerox is based in Norwalk, Conn. and has several offices in Washington state, including in Federal Way, Lacey, Kent, Spokane, Everett and Seattle. Those offices remain unaffected by the Redmond closure. The Seattle Times reported the news of the closure earlier today.
