Xerox Corp. said its earnings fell 61%...

Xerox Corp. said its earnings fell 61% in the fourth quarter after a special charge for cutting 2,500 workers in its document processing unit.

For all of 1991, Xero reported an 87% increase in earnings.

For the three months ended Dec. 31, the company earned $91 million, or 73 cents a share, on revenue of $4.87 billion. For the same period in 1990, it earned $235 million, or $2.27 a share, on revenue of $5.01 billion.

In the fourth quarter, Xerox took a special charge of $175 million to pay for severance costs associated with the job cuts.

Aslo skewing comparison of fourth-quarter results was income from the 1990 sale of Xerox South Pacific Operations to Fuji Xerox Co., a Japanese affiliate. The company reported an after-tax gain of $50 million for the fourth quarter of 1990.

Excluding special items, the Stamford, Conn.-based firm earned $192 million, or $1.79 a share, for the October-December period, slightly lower than $197 million, or $1.87 a share, during the same period in 1990.

For the year, Xerox reported net income of $54 million, or $3.91 a share, on revenue of $17.83 billion. That compared to earnings of $243 million, or $1.66 a share, on revenue of $17.97 billion for 1990.

Chairman and Chief Executive Paul A. Allaire said the company increased its share of the market for less expensive office equipment during the year. He said the weak economy affected sales of more expensive items.