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.

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