Office equipment maker Ricoh will trim roughly 1,000 management positions in Europe and sell a Japan-based Logistics unit to cut another 3,000 positions from payroll, Nikkei and Reuters are reporting.
Moreover, Ricoh has already cut more than 5,000 jobs in North America since the start of this year, where the company has been conducting impairment tests and may have to take a related charge of about $943.04 million, Reuters and Nikkei reported.
Ricoh did not comment in those initial reports. ChannelE2E has reached out to Ricoh for comment, and also asked if the alleged changes would impact mindSHIFT, a managed services provider (MSP) owned by Ricoh. A spokesperson for Ricoh pointed ChannelE2E to this comment:
"Today, the Nikkei Newspaper mentioned possible structural reforms at Ricoh.
This has not been announced by Ricoh. Ricoh continually evaluates opportunities for structural reforms to further enhance its business growth.
If we need to make any announcements in this regard, we will do so in a timely manner."
In terms of mindSHIFT, the spokesperson said: "mindSHIFT is a Ricoh company. Also, Ricoh remains committed to our partners."
Ricoh Channel Moves, Industry Pressures
On the channel front, Ricoh Americas has spent the past year fine-tuning and enhancing its partner go-to-market strategy, and those efforts have been showing progress, Senior VP Glenn Laverty told ChannelE2E in a podcast recorded in December 2017 and published in early 2018.
Still, office equipment vendors are under intense pressure to find new growth opportunities as the market consolidates. Ricoh, for instance, has delivered declining profits for the past four years, and its stock has shed nearly two-thirds of its market value since its peak in 2007, Reuters notes.
Rivals are also feeling the pressure. Fujifilm, for instance, is acquiring Xerox for $6.1 billion and plans to cut about 10,000 positions as part of the deal -- though shareholder activists are pushing for Xerox to find a different buyer.
HP Inc., meanwhile, recently acquired Samsung's printer business for $1.05 billion even as HP trims 3,000 to 4,000 positions from fiscal 2017 to 2019, as part of a plan announced in 2016. HP's overall business, however, has been accelerating in recent months.
Lexmark International also confirmed a layoff plan in August 2017 that will cut about 700 jobs -- or 7 percent of the company's workforce -- over a 12-month period. The company in February 2018 hired Lenovo veteran Sammy Kinlaw to drive worldwide channels and OEM sales.
Ricoh Status Update
Back at Ricoh, we'll be watching for potential statements and status updates.
