Struggling Xionics Document Technologies Inc, which designs embedded systems for printers and other peripherals, is making a bid to claw out of the red with a reorganization which will see it absorb a $9m charge in the fourth quarter. The Burlington, Massachusetts-based company is also cutting its 220-strong workforce by 10 percent and is looking for a buyer for its Digital Document Products Division. Seeking to add some sugar to this unpalatable medicine, the company also announced a multi-year extension of its existing technology development agreement with Hewlett-Packard Co. The deal is crucial to the future of a small company which saw a loss of $1.3m in its third quarter through March 31 on revenues of $8.8m. The company’s partnership with HP dates back to 1994 and it has been working to improve HP’s printer controller architecture. Xionics, which originated in the UK, has badly lost its way financially – though it is up against big players such as Adobe with far greater resources. Part of the reason for the $9m charge is a loss on a contract with Rocoh which it had proudly claimed was the first system-on a chip for multi-function peripherals. The company now plans to focus purely on printer languages and the MFP market.
