The move forms part of the company’s plan to stop producing inkjet printers, announced a year ago.
Evertiq reported on the latest announcement, which follows the revelations of last August when Lexmark announced its exit from the inkjet printer manufacturing business, which was emboldened by its sale of inkjet technology patents to Funai Electric in April earlier this year.
The decision to stop manufacturing hardware at this point has come “as part of restructuring actions”, according to the OEM, with 1,700 jobs worldwide, including 1,100 manufacturing roles, to be eliminated. The changes, Evertiq notes, are expected to save Lexmark $95 million (€71 million) a year once implemented, though the OEM will continue to provide “service, support and aftermarket supplies” for customers still possessing Lexmark inkjet printers.
Among the facilities set to close due to this decision include Lexmark’s inkjet supplies manufacturing facility in Cebu in the Philippines, which is on target to shut down by 2015, and the OEM has mentioned that other actions to be taken following the decision include “eliminating inkjet development worldwide”, including costs related to “facilities, tooling, equipment, contract termination and scrapping in process inventory”, all of which are set to be completed by the end of the year.
Paul Rooke, Lexmark’s Chairman and CEO, stated: “Today’s announcement represents difficult decisions, which are necessary to drive improved profitability and significant savings. Our investments are focused on higher value imaging and software solutions, and we believe the synergies between imaging and the emerging software elements of our business will continue to drive growth across the organization.”