Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) has announced that it will cut more than 1,100 jobs in the U.K. as it continues its global efforts to downsize. According to the BBC, that process will begin next year and eliminate 1,124 positions.
Shares of Hewlett-Packard rose more than 1% in premarket trading.
Three Hewlett-Packard sites affected
The Unite union revealed that Hewlett-Packard said it would cut positions in three locations in the U.K., Sheffield, Warrington and Bracknell. The cuts at the Bracknell unit are expected to amount to more than 600, and Hewlett-Packard is planning to eliminate nearly 500 at the Warrington location. An additional 23 positions will be eliminated in Sheffield.
These cuts are part of a larger plan announced by Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) last year. At that time, the computer maker said it would slash 29,000 positions around the world. That was about 8% of its workforce at the time. That plan was to last through the end of 2014. The cuts come as demand for the company’s desktop computers continues to decline. Hewlett-Packard has been struggling to adapt to the shift to mobile devices.
Hewlett-Packard to support workers
Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) said it isn’t leaving workers completely high and dry. It has a number of plans in place to provide support for workers who are being affected by the job cuts. The company said it is working on “re-skilling,” redeploying and supporting workers as they look for new jobs.
However, Unite said many of the workers lost faith in the company’s ability to help them find new work. The BBC reports that the national officer of the union said the company “has been addicted to a culture of job cuts in the U.K.” The union also said it would be doing what it can to help workers find new jobs. The cuts are also a blow to the U.K.’s information technology successful and are especially distressing for workers in the days leading up to the Christmas holiday.
