HP. Image: ricochet64/Shutterstuck
A major restructuring by HP will see between 3,000 and 4,000 people let go in the coming years. What that means for its Irish operation is as yet unclear.
HP’s global outlook is pretty grim at the moment, with hardware sales on the slide. Dion Weisler, chief executive of the company, is now saying the market continues to be volatile and his company is facing pressures and uncertainties.
It’s so bad that its swathe of job cuts for 2016 (3,000, globally, was the original aim), will be matched and then some by the end of the decade.
“Our core markets are challenged and macroeconomic conditions are in flux right now,” Weisler said.
HP employees around 4,000 people in Ireland, primarily at its Leixlip facility, though no word has been given on their future. Siliconrepublic.com has reached out for comment from the company.
HP has historically been a giant of the computer sales industry, though that entire business sector may be coming to an end soon.
“Weak back-to-school demand.” “Ongoing low demand in the consumer market.” This was Gartner’s succinct, two-sentence review of what appears to be a dying industry.
The desktop computer is already fading from view, with two years of solid decline underlined by an almost 12pc total fall in Lenovo, HP, Dell, Asus, Apple, Acer and all other manufacturers’ sales in the past year.
HP, Dell and Asus actually had marginal gains but, beyond the major operators, the drop was so dramatic that the entire industry was dragged down.
However, that has not stopped HP investing big sums in complementary operations. In September, it bought Samsung’s printing business for just over $1bn.
The company is working on a strategy to move into high volume devices that can handle printing and copying for office work groups. To get to that point, it clearly feels the need to shed some weight.
The reduction of up to 4,000 employees will see the company save up to $300m a year, though the move could cost as much as $500m to the company.
“I’m proud of the progress we have made in our first year as the new HP. Our focus is clear, our execution is solid, and we are positioned well for the next step in our journey,” said Weisler.
HP. Image: ricochet64/Shutterstuck
