How deep is Hewlett-Packard Co. cutting to stabilize itself? More than was originally believed, says a report.
The San Jose Mercury News said that in a quiet regulatory filing earlier this week HP said a total of 34,000 jobs will be eliminated by the end of October, 2014. That’s 5,000 more than most news reports state.
HP did warn that the expected 29,000 cuts was an estimate and that number could go up by as much as 15 per cent. The latest filing shows that’s the case.
In its latest financial results, issued Nov. 26, HP said it had fourth quarter earnings of US$1.4 billion net revenue of US$29.1 billion, down three per cent from the same period a year ago (although only one per cent when adjusted for the effects of currency fluctuations). By comparison, it had a US$6.9 billion loss in the fourth quarter in 2012.
For the fiscal year ending Oct. 31 HP had a profit of US$5.1 billion on revenue of US$112 billion, compared to a loss of US$12.7 billion for the previous 12 month period.
But, the filing noted, net revenue dropped 5.5 per cent (on a constant currency basis) in fiscal 2013 compared to 2012 in part due to “significant contraction” in the PC market (where revenue dropped nine per cent) and weak enterprise and government demand for its products.
“Through improved execution, strong cost management, and with the support of our customers and partners, HP ended fiscal 2013 on a high note,” chief executive officer Meg Whitman said in November. “Our Q4 results demonstrate that HP’s turnaround remains on track heading into fiscal 2014. While we still have much more work to do, our business units and their core assets are delivering on HP’s strategy to help customers thrive by providing solutions for the New Style of IT.”