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Xerox: No bankruptcy plan
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January 9, 2001: 2:38 p.m. ET
Beleaguered copier maker denies published report it is considering filing
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Xerox Corp. hit back Tuesday at a published report that the struggling copier maker has hired a bankruptcy adviser, saying it has "no plans to file for bankruptcy."
Xerox spokesman Bill McKee told CNNfn that, as of Dec. 20, the company had $1.4 billion cash on hand and "liquidity remains sufficient to meet current and anticipated needs."
The New York Post reported Tuesday the company hired the Blackstone Group as bankruptcy adviser.
"It is common knowledge that we have hired the Blackstone Group as financial advisers," McKee said. "We unveiled a corporate turnaround plan in October, and we are ahead of schedule in that plan. We expect to continue on that route. We have no plans to file bankruptcy."
The Blackstone Group declined comment.
"Just because the company has retained a financial adviser does not necessarily mean imminent bankruptcy," said Gibboney Huske, an analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston.
 Huske said bankruptcy is not imminent, but she could not rule it out entirely.
She said hiring Blackstone is a "prudent decision" and forecast Xerox has about 12 months of liquidity as a cushion.
But J.P. Morgan analyst Dan Kunstler said hiring Blackstone without filing for bankruptcy is still somewhat disconcerting.
Kunstler said it is "kind of like being on an airplane flying in the middle of the Atlantic and the pilot suddenly comes on and says 'Ladies and gentlemen, you have nothing to worry about.'"
But he added the company has a few ways to earn cash, with the sale of financial assets or the involvement of a leveraged acquirer both viable options.
In October, Xerox posted its first quarterly loss in 16 years.
Xerox, "the document company" as it's best known, has fallen out of favor in the past year or so for continuing to focus on products and services that deal with documents and failing to embrace more paperless technologies such as computer networking systems and scanning devices. While once considered the mainstay of the blue-chip technology community, with a stable $60 stock price to boot, it has been criticized for not embracing more wired products and services.
The company plans to cut about $600 million in sales and general administrative costs and a "significant" number of jobs. In March, Xerox cut 5,200 jobs, or about 5 percent of its work force.
Shares of Xerox (XRX: Research, Estimates) fell 50 cents to $5.88 in Tuesday afternoon trading. 
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Xerox
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