HP planning at least 25,000 job cuts, reports say
HP is preparing to announce at least 25,000 job cuts next week in an effort to stem falling revenues, according to multiple sources.
As reported by The Guardian, the FT, The Wall Street Journal and others, the cuts will reduce HP's headcount by between 8-10 percent, or roughly between 25,000-30,000 people.
HP has not confirmed the cuts, but many of the reports were directly if anonymously sourced. The headcount reduction is expected to be announced alongside the company's next financial results, due on Wednesday.
HP's last results, revealed in February, showed quarterly revenues to have fallen by 44 percent year-on-year.
Chief executive Meg Whitman blamed the drop on rising hard disk prices, which were in turn caused by flooding in Thailand. Other problems included poor performance in HP's key printing business and other units, but revenues were up for the software division.
The last couple of years have been tumultuous for HP. Former eBay chief Whitman took the top spot in November after the sacking of Leo Apotheker, who had only been in the position for less than a year.
Apotheker's disastrous tenure included the purchase of British software firm Autonomy for £7.1bn, the abandonment of WebOS and an abortive plan to hive off HP's market-leading PC business.
As the job cuts have not yet been officially announced, there is no indication yet as to how many will be made in the UK.
HP's previous rounds of redundancies here have met with strong opposition from the unions.