Old Tech Companies Struggle to Stay Afloat (TXN, XRX)

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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Two old tech companies, both in trouble, have announced layoffs. Their actions might be attributed to a bad economy or to the fiscal cliff. But making that assumption would be a mistake.

Both Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) and Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) are in declines that they cannot reverse. Texas Instruments has little share of the hot mobile chip market. And Xerox is in the ancient business of printers and in low-end tech consulting. Each one has been passed by more advanced companies. Xerox will cut 2,500 jobs and Texas Instruments will lay off 1,700.

Xerox’s chief executive, Ursula Burns, said, “We’ll be able to have a low-growth business shifting to a high-growth business as we get more of our revenue from services. On balance, we’re making progress, not fast enough. I’m not patient.” Neither are the people who lost their jobs.

Shares of both companies are thus far inactive in premarket trading but rose fractionally yesterday after hours. Texas Instruments was at $29.00, in a 52-week range of $26.06 to $34.24. Xerox ended at $6.32, in a a 52-week range of $6.26 to $8.84.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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