Thursday afternoon, Xerox Corp. (NYSE:XRX) reported third quarter net income of $258 million, or 29 cents per share. Excluding special items, the company's profit was 26 cents per share, missing average Street estimates of 28 cents per share. Sales also increased 1.6 percent to reach $4.37 billion for the quarter. For the fourth quarter, Xerox expects profit to be in the range of 34 to 36 cents per share and between $1.14 to $1.16 per share for full year earnings. Average analyst earnings estimates for the fourth quarter and full year are 43 cents per share and $1.24 per share. In order to maximize company efficiency in the current market, Xerox plans on cutting 3,000 positions over the next six months, or 5.2 percent, of its 57,400 employees. Shares of Xerox closed 27 cents down to $7.71 Thursday.

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