Shifting Some Production, Jobs to California : Xerox Will Cut 1,100 Jobs in Texas

Xerox Corp., moving to trim costs and boost efficiency in its assault on the office-computer market, said it will eliminate about 1,100 jobs in Texas over the next 18 months.

The cutback will stem from consolidations and the transfer of production and white-collar jobs to California. An unrelated plant closing in Orange County, however, will leave the company’s net employment in the state unchanged.

Xerox’s Information Products division, which employs 1,300 in Dallas, said it will lay off 500 of them, offer California jobs to about 225 and scatter an additional 375 in jobs around the country. Perhaps 50 will land in the Los Angeles area, Xerox said.

The moves implement the company’s previously announced plans to move all electronic typewriter, personal-computer and word-processor production to a modern, under-used plant in Fremont, Calif. Related functions will move to an unspecified spot in the San Jose area, Xerox said.

Xerox said the transfers and employment cutbacks related to a line of new office-automation products introduced earlier this week, as well as the need to slash costs to survive in the highly competitive office-computer market.

Downplaying Rentals

In Orange County, Xerox is closing its Irvine copy machine refurbishing plant June 28 and laying off all 220 workers.

Xerox spokesman Art Zuckerman said the closing was the result of the company’s efforts to push machine sales, rather than rentals, and a decline in returns of rental machines.

The Irvine plant, one of three refurbishing plants in the nation, has been repairing and reconditioning rental copiers for re-rental or sale. But with more customers buying their copiers outright and a decline in rental returns, Zuckerman said there was not enough work for three plants.

The two remaining plants are in Oakbrook, Ill., and Rochester, N.Y.

Xerox and union officials, who represent 186 workers at the Irvine plant, say the company has agreed to try to find new jobs for the employees.

At least 25 workers already have found new positions in Xerox facilities in Southern California, according to Jerry Lenhard, shop chairman for the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers, which represents the Xerox workers.

Times staff writer Carla Lazzareschi contributed to this article.