IKON Cutting About 2,600 Workers

The Associated Press Published: Oct 1, 2001

VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (AP) - IKON Office Solutions has announced plans to cut about 2,600 jobs as it closes or reduces some business units and cuts other expenses. The company, which employs 31,000 workers, said it will drop telephony operations in both the United States and Europe, close some digital print production centers and downsize other operations throughout the organization.

Those actions will result in the reduction of about 1,600 employees over the next 12 months, saving about $50 million annually. They will be included in a pretax restructuring charge of about $65 million in the fourth quarter of 2001.

"For Fiscal 2002, we expect the economy to put significant pressure on our revenues," chairman and chief executive officer James J. Forese said. "Therefore ... we will be further reducing our workforce by an additional 1,000 employees over the next 12 months, primarily through attrition."

IKON's fourth quarter results will also include a $10 million charge to increase the company's tax reserve for leveraged corporate-owned life insurance (COLI) programs.

IKON Office Solutions, which provides products and services to help businesses communicate, has about 800 locations worldwide and had revenues of $5.4 billion last year.

Shares of IKON closed at $7.50 on the New York Stock Exchange, down 22 cents. Shares fell another nickel to $7.45 in extended trading.

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On the Net:

http://www.ikon.com

AP-ES-10-01-01 2256EDT

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2001