HP to Eliminate 27,000 Jobs

Company says move will save up to $3.5 billion annually.

In a major overhaul, one of Silicon Valley's largest employers announced it was laying off 27,000 employees, or 8 percent of its staff.

Hewlett Packard said Thursday it plans to eliminate 27,000 jobs by 2014 to simplify its business and to generate annual savings ranging between $3 to $3.5 billion.

"These initiatives build upon our recent organizational realignment, and will further streamline our operations, improve our processes, and remove complexity from our business," HP CEO Meg Whitman said. "While some of these actions are difficult because they involve the loss of jobs, they are necessary to improve execution and to fund the long term health of the company. We are setting HP on a path to extend our global leadership and deliver the greatest value to customers and shareholders."

The former California gubernatorial candidate was hired by HP in September 2011 to help remake the once mighty technology company.

HP said it is offering several employees the option to retire early, so the final number of lay offs could drop.

Company representatives would not comment on how many California employees will be laid off.

Instead the company said in a release that "workforce reduction plans will vary by country, based on local legal requirements and consultation with works councils and employee representatives, as appropriate."

HP employs more than 340,000 people around the world and the company is headquartered in Palo Alto.

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