FEDEX LAYOFFS 200 IN THE U.S. CLOSES FEDEX KINKO'S AUSTRALIA

[Anonymous]

http://www.proprint.com.au/News/124187,fedex-kinko%E2%80%99s-shuts-up-shop-in-australia.aspx
FedEx Kinko’s shuts up shop in Australia
FedEx
Kinko’s is pulling out of Australia, with 11 stores across the nation
set to close over the next few months, following a decision from its
American parent company, FedEx Office, to scale back its global
operations.

FedEx Office is cutting 650 jobs worldwide, as the
company plans to shut FedEx Kinko’s stores in the USA, Australia, the
Netherlands and Mexico. Australia has arguably been the hardest hit,
with approximately 200 jobs set to go in the US, and 250 Australian
jobs making up the 450 jobs likely to be cut outside the US. Likewise,
17 stores in total will be closed outside the US, 11 of these in
Australia.

A formal date for these closures is yet to be set,
though the company says it is aiming to have them all done by May 31st,
the end of the US financial year.The company rejected the notion that
the decision was made in light of this week’s stock market plunge which
has signaled a global economic downturn.“It’s more related to the
company’s financial performance and the priorities we’re aligning with
going forward,” said Jenny Robertson, a spokesperson from FedEx
Office’s headquarters in Dallas.“FedEx Office has been looking at its
financial performance for a while, looking for ways to improve and set
the company up for long-term success. We looked at the markets where we
don’t have a large presence and found that our support costs were
exceeding our revenue. So we made the difficult decision to close our
centres overseas, and Australia was one of them.”

Robertson
claims the company didn’t take the decision lightly, and canvassed a
variety of options before settling on a pull-out.“We looked at a lot of
scenarios and realised that under our current business model it was not
going to be viable without significant investments, and we’re not in a
position to make significant investments right now.”

With
roughly 250 employees on its books in Australia, the company says it is
hoping to find positions for some of them in other areas of the FedEx
corporation.“We’ll be working closely with them to make the transition
as smooth as possible,” said Robertson.

It’s likely that most of
the closures will be staggered over the coming months, as the company
assesses the matter on a store-by-store basis.“We’re working with the
landlords to find out when leases are up and holding negotiations with
them, so we’ll have a better idea when those negotiations are
finished,” said Robertson.

http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2008/09/22/daily34.html?jst=b_ln_hl
FedEx Office announces 200 U.S. layoffs
FedEx
Office, a division of FedEx Corp., announced Friday it’s laying off 200
people nationwide — 100 of which are located in the company’s North
Texas offices.

Jenny Robertson, a spokesperson for FedEx Office,
said the printing store operator initiated the cuts to increase the
overall customer experience and increase the company’s long-term
success. The impacted employees work at the company’s Galleria
headquarters in Dallas and at its Plano office.

Affected staff
members were released Friday. Robertson said impacted employees will
receive benefits for a few months, as well as severance packages.

The
reductions are part of a companywide realignment, which also includes
the closing of 20 to 21 stores nationwide. At the moment, FedEx Office
is evaluating every store’s profitability to determine which locations
will be closed.

FedEx Office has 2,000 stores worldwide. As part
of its strategic realignment, FedEx also is closing 17 locations in
other countries. The move will essentially eliminate all FedEx Office
stores in Mexico, Australia and the Netherlands.

Robertson
stressed the closings are related specifically to FedEx Office printing
stores. FedEx’s shipping and mailing operations will not be impacted by
the restructuring.

Based in Memphis, FedEx Corp. provides a
portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services through
several divisions, including FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, FedEx Office
(formerly Kinkos) and FedEx Global Supply Chain Services. The company
employs around 30,000 in Memphis.

[Author]

October 2, 2008 at 1:02 PM