Take a look at the Canon, Ricoh, HP pages on thelayoff.com. They are all talking about the EXACT same thing. RIF's, layoffs, outsourcing, etc. Canon just laid off 50 from Melville TODAY.
The reality is, the market is shrinking. There are too many players, and the market can't support it. Having four top tier manufacturers (Xerox, Canon, KM, Ricoh - in that order) plus all the turd manufacturers (Toshiba, Kyocera, Sharp) is creating a non-sustainable market. The cuts are only a desperate effort to postpone the inevitable. So what going to happen?
Xerox gets acquired by HP
Canon buys dealers for more distribution
KM becomes more of an IT services company
Ricoh declares bankruptcy
Toshiba folds or divests copier division
Sharp divests their copier division
Kyocera...well, who cares about Kyocera. Nobody ever has.
Until some of the players above close their doors or merge together, the only options are cut, cut, cut while hoping your competitor has an untimely death before you do (See Best Buy vs. Circuit City, Sears vs Walmart vs. Target, CVS. vs. Walgreens vs. RiteAid, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Mercury, Chrysler)
My bet: A merged HP/Xerox, Canon, and an IT-focused KM are left to fight it out after the dust settles.