Hewlett-Packard to cut 9,000 jobs

PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) — Hewlett-Packard Co. said Tuesday it will cut about 9,000 jobs and take $1 billion in charges over three years as it creates fully automated commercial data centers.

The Palo Alto-based technology company said it will invest $1 billion in its enterprise services unit over a multiyear period. The company said the job cuts will be the result of productivity gains and automation. The company said it will replace about 6,000 of the jobs to boost its global sales and delivery staff.

HP, whose fiscal year ends in October, said it will record about half of the $1 billion charge in the third quarter and the rest by the end of fiscal 2013.

Once project is completed, HP says, the changes will result in savings of about $500 million to $700 million a year.

HP said the commercial data centers will help its corporate clients run their businesses faster and more efficiently.

HP, the world’s biggest maker of PCs and printers and the top technology company by revenue, has been working to expand its business in other areas as PC profit margins are usually thin. The company bought Electronic Data Systems, a rival of IBM Corp., in 2008, and it is pushing into the mobile market with its acquisition of struggling smart-phone maker Palm Inc., announced in April.

HP had about 304,000 employees as of October 2009.

The company’s shares fell 46 cents to $45.50 in Tuesday premarket trading.