Xerox will sustain a pre-tax charge of $350 million to $400 million in the fourth quarter as a result of 2,400 job cuts announced this week.

The charge includes severance costs and about $50 million associated with facility consolidations and closings. The charge is larger than the $100 million originally anticipated. Xerox said it wanted to accelerate the benefits of cost savings.

Shares of Xerox rose two cents to close at $8.05 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange after the announcement.

Xerox has been hurt by sluggish sales and an investigation of its finances that led to a $10 million fine and a restatement.

Xerox implemented a turnaround plan more than a year ago that has resulted in more than $1 billion in annual savings, in part through job cuts and the sale of assets.

Xerox employs 69,900 worldwide, including 2,400 in Dublin. Most of the job cuts announced this week will be implemented in the US. It remains unclear how many redundancies are to be sought in Europe.

Xerox turned in a better-than-expected profit in its third quarter on a 6 per cent decline in sales as overall margins jumped by more than four percentage points.

The copier maker said it earned $105 million, or five cents a share after preferred dividends and an employee share ownership plan contribution, compared with a loss of $32 million, or five cents a share, in 2001.

The results also included a restructuring charge of six cents a share. Revenue fell to $3.8 billion in the latest quarter from $4.1 billion a year ago.

Earlier this year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission charged Xerox with using irregular accounting to boost revenue from 1997 to 2000.