Hewlett-Packard to axe additional 2,000 jobs

Global technology giant Hewlett-Packard Inc has expanded its planned layoffs by 2,000 to 29,000 over the next two years, as part of the company's restructuring drive to cut down costs amid sagging computer sales and services.

Earlier in May, the company said that it would eliminate around 27,000 jobs to save up to $3.5 billion annually. (See:  Hewlett Packard to eliminate 27,000 jobs)

In a regulatory filing yesterday, HP disclosed the additional job cuts of 2,000, with the cumulative figure reaching 29,000 or nearly 9 per cent of its total workforce, will take place through fiscal 2014. The company expects to book around $3.7 billion in restructuring expenses during the period.

Job cuts are expected hit hard the company's enterprise services division, where it is expected to be around 8,000 positions. In August, HP said it would write down the value of its enterprise-services business by about $8 billion, primarily on account of its $13.9-billion acquisition of Electronic Data Systems Corp in 2008.

Palo Alto, California-based computer maker reported dismal results for the third quarter ended 31 July with a net loss of $8.9 billion, the worst loss in the company's 73-year history. Net revenue slid 5 per cent to $29.7 billion for the quarter.

Diluted loss per share was $4.49, down from earnings per share of $0.93 for the same quarter a year ago. The company said that it expects to earn $4.05-4.07 per share for the fiscal 2012.