4,000 IRISH JOBS AT RISK AT HP

[Anonymous]

http://www.examiner.ie/irishexaminer/pages/story.aspx-qqqg=ireland-qqqm=ireland-qqqa=ireland-qqqid=72424-qqqx=1.asp
4,000 Irish jobs at risk as HP announces global cull
UP
TO 4,000 Irish jobs are under threat after Hewlett Packard, the world’s
largest maker of personal computers, announced plans to cut more than
24,000 jobs.The reduction amounts to about 7.5% of the workforce,
Hewlett-Packard said last night. The cuts will take place over three
years as part of its integration of Electronic Data Systems (EDS).
Hewlett-Packard and EDS have about 320,000 employees combined.HP
employs more than 4,000 staff in Ireland across a range of businesses.

Its
main operation is a manufacturing plant at Leixlip in Co Kildare, where
cartridges for inkjet printers are made.The company has a software and
localisation centre in Galway and has extensive sales and services
operations and a bank. It has invested in a number of research
initiatives, including a media-manufacturing centre and inkjet
research.It was unclear last night whether Irish jobs would be lost as
a result of the cuts.

Chief executive Mark Hurd paid $13.2
billion (€9.25bn) for EDS to more than double revenue at its services
group, which manages corporate computer networks and data
centres.Combined, the companies’ service units had more than $38bn
(€26bn) in sales last year.The cuts are the biggest undertaken by Hurd,
who eliminated 15,000 positions to revive profits after becoming chief
in 2005.

Half the job cuts will be in the US. The company said
it will begin telling employees soon if their position will be
eliminated.Once completed, the restructuring is expected to bring
savings of $1.8bn (€1.3bn) annually, excluding costs spent to expand
its sales force and reach in emerging markets, said the
company.Hewlett-Packard completed its acquisition last month of EDS,
which was founded in 1962. The purchase is Hewlett-Packard’s largest
since the $18.9bn (€13bn) takeover of Compaq Computer in 2002

[Author]

September 16, 2008 at 12:56 PM