HP to slash up to 30,000 jobs as split looms

Future HP Enterprise team opens up about the company's outlook

HP is planning to slash between 25,000 and 30,000 jobs in its Enterprise division once it is made independent.

The job cuts will come primarily from the Enterprise Services arm, the firm said at a financial analysts' conference in the US last night.

HP revealed a full outlook for the performance of HP Enterprise for its first year of independence, which will begin on 1 November when the firm splits in two. HP Inc will be the other company created and will focus on personal systems and printing.

HP's chief executive Meg Whitman said the job cuts will make HP Enterprise more efficient.

"These restructuring activities will enable a more competitive, sustainable cost structure for the new HP Enterprise," she said. "We've done a significant amount of work over the past few years to take costs out and simplify processes and these final actions will eliminate the need for any future corporate restructuring."

The move will result in a GAAP-only charge of approximately $2.7bn (£650m), beginning in the fourth quarter fiscal 2015, HP said.

HP Enterprise will have more than $50bn annual revenue and will trade under the HPE ticker symbol from 1 November.

Future HP Enterprise chief financial officer Tim Stonesifer told analysts that revenue at the firm will grow annually in constant currency driven by continued strength in servers, storage and networking.

"HP Enterprise anticipates operating profit dollars to grow year over year in fiscal 2016, due to the continued focus on supply chain productivity, disciplined approach to discretionary spending and efforts to reshape the workforce," said HP.

At the meeting, Whitman reiterated the thinking behind the split.

"HP Enterprise will be smaller and more focused than HP is today, and we will have a broad and deep portfolio of businesses that will help enterprises transition to the new style of business," she said. "As a separate company, we are better positioned than ever to meet the evolving needs of our customers around the world."