HP lay-offs in UK 'inevitable'
Firm states it has reserved $200m for global job cuts
Hewlett-Packard (HP) will make redundancies from its UK and Ireland operation.
HP has confirmed that, as part of a realignment, some jobs will go, although CRN has learned that this figure could be as high as 330.
The firm stated in its November 2004 Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it had reserved $200m for global staff lay-offs in the first half of 2005.
Sources have told CRN that HP issued a letter to staff at the same time as the merger of its Personal Systems and Imaging and Printing divisions, although the moves are unrelated. The sources added that the lay-offs are likely to be in HP's Customer Support Group.
In a statement, HP said: "Our workforce in the UK and Ireland is evolving ... This means some roles in the UK and Ireland will transition from slow to high growth areas, while others may inevitably be made redundant."
Ian Brooks, managing director of HP VAR ibbd, said: "Relations between HP and the channel are improving, so I hope this doesn't have a detrimental effect."