Profit edges higher; 3,000 more jobs will be slashed

Xerox Corp. plans to cut 3,000 jobs, or 5% of its workforce, because a slowdown in orders from large U.S. companies has dragged down the printer and copier maker’s profit margins.

The restructuring of the Norwalk, Conn.-based company will affect all departments except sales and is an example of how the economic turmoil is hurting companies outside the financial services industry.

Xerox shares slid 27 cents, or 3.4%, to $7.71.

Xerox had already been steadily cutting costs and jobs before the financial crisis dramatically worsened in the last month. The company has slashed 8,800 jobs since 2005, including 1,500 this year.

The latest cuts will lead to a $400-million charge.

Xerox reported a 2% increase in profit in the quarter, earning $258 million, or 29 cents a share -- a penny higher than the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. The results compared with profit of $254 million, or 27 cents, a year earlier.

Xerox’s sales grew 2% to $4.37 billion and would have been flat were it not for the benefits from a weak U.S. dollar.