Hewlett-Packard to Slash 27,000 Jobs (HPQ)

PUBLISHED: 24 May 2012 @ 15:39 | Comments (0) | More info about Ed Liston

Personal computer maker Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) after-market close on Wednesday announced plans to layoff about 27,000 employees of 8% of its workforce over the next two years. The job cuts are part of company’s plan to jumpstart growth and save up to $3.5 billion annually.

HPQ plans to make the layoffs mainly through early retirement. The layoffs are expected to be completed by the end of fiscal 2014.

Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett-Packard, said that layoffs adversely impact people’s lives, but in this case they are absolutely critical to the long-term health of the company.

A third of the layoffs will be in the U.S. The Palo Alto, Texas-based company expects to take a charge of $1.7 bullion in fiscal 2012 because of the downsizing.

Meanwhile, HPQ also reported its second-quarter financial results. The company posted net income of $1.59 billion, or $0.80 per share for the quarter, down from $2.3 billion, or $1.05 per share reported for the same period last year. Revenue for the quarter fell 3% to $30.69 billion.

Excluding one-time items, HPQ reported a profit of $0.98 per share, beating Street estimates of $0.91 per share.

HPQ shares are up more than 8% in pre-market trading today.

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