Hewlett-Packard Cutting 6,000 More Jobs, Citing Sluggish Sales

By Brian Bergstein The Associated Press Published: Jul 26, 2001

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - High-tech giant Hewlett-Packard Co. said Thursday that it is eliminating 6,000 more jobs, or more than 6 percent of its work force, because of sluggish sales. The job cuts come on top of 4,700 already announced this year by the Palo Alto-based maker of computers and printers.

The company's stock price fell more than 5 percent.

The cutbacks came after sales turned out even worse than expected.

Carly Fiorina, HP chairwoman, president and chief executive, said she now expects revenue in the third quarter, which ends July 31, to decline 14 percent to 16 percent from the same time last year. In May, she had said sales were probably going to be flat to down 5 percent.

"Economies around the world continue to weaken and our consumer business is being hit particularly hard," Fiorina said. She added: "I do not expect a second-half recovery in 2001."

The projected revenue decline, from the $11.8 billion in sales HP achieved in the year-ago period, would put third-quarter revenue between $9.9 billion and $10.1 billion. Analysts had been expecting $11.1 billion.

HP is just the latest computer maker to cut jobs because of the slumping PC market. Compaq is laying off 8,500 people, and Dell is cutting 5,000 jobs.

Though HP has eliminated 4,700 positions recently, it also has been hiring in key areas, and the work force has actually grown from 90,000 at the beginning of the year to around 93,000 now. The new cuts will bring the work force to about 86,000, spokesman Dave Berman said.

HP has taken other steps to keep expenses down. More than 80,000 employees have offered to take pay cuts.

In midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Hewlett-Packard was down $1.74 a share to $23.94.

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Hewlett-Packard: http://www.hp.com

AP-ES-07-26-01 1319EDT

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2001

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Chipmaker Infineon to Cut 5,000 Jobs Due to Technology Industry Slump

The Associated Press Published: Jul 26, 2001

MUNICH, Germany (AP) - German chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG said Thursday it will cut 5,000 jobs, or about 14.2 percent of its work force, to save money amid global weakness in the technology sector. Chipmakers have been affected by the slowing world economy that has depressed demand from technology companies for computer chips.

The job cuts will be made over the next 12 to 18 months, Infineon said, and should help save about $880 million.

It said other programs will be implemented to streamline company operations. Infineon, a spinoff of Siemens AG, has about 35,000 positions worldwide.

"The dramatic market developments and our resulting business situation leave us no other choice," Infineon chief Ulrich Schumacher said.

The cuts will require layoffs and some workers will have to go to part-time status, company spokesman Ralph Heinrich said, adding that Infineon is still determining exactly where positions will be eliminated.

Earlier this week, Infineon reported a quarterly loss of $527 million and said it expects to be in the red for the next quarter ending Sept. 30 because of the weak market conditions.

Union officials said they had been told the company was thinking about cutting 1,000 jobs at its Munich headquarters.

"For a long time we have counted on such developments - but not in such a dramatic way," said Siegfried Hoermann, spokesman for the Bavarian branch of the IG Metall union.

AP-ES-07-26-01 1131EDT

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2001