US Tech Giant Hewlett Packard Plans Up to 6,000 Job Cuts

The logo for The Hewlett-Packard Company is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, June 27, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
The logo for The Hewlett-Packard Company is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, June 27, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
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US Tech Giant Hewlett Packard Plans Up to 6,000 Job Cuts

The logo for The Hewlett-Packard Company is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, June 27, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
The logo for The Hewlett-Packard Company is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, June 27, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

PC-maker Hewlett Packard on Tuesday said it would layoff as many as 6,000 employees over the next three years as the slumping world economy continues to embroil the US tech sector.

HP, which has a payroll of about 61,000 people, said it aimed to secure $1.4 billion in annual savings through 2025 as it followed the cost-cutting path of other tech giants such as Facebook-owner Meta, Amazon and Twitter.

The plan "will enable us to better serve our customers and drive long-term value creation by reducing our costs and reinvesting in key growth initiatives to position our business for the future," HP CEO Enrique Lores said in a statement.

Meta said earlier this month it will lay off more than 11,000 of its staff and Twitter saw half of its 7,500-strong employees culled just days after the company was taken over by billionaire Elon Musk in late October.

"These are the toughest decisions we have to make, because they impact colleagues we care deeply about. We are committed to treating people with care and respect..." an HP spokesperson said in an email to AFP.

HP, which makes computer hardware and printers, announced the layoff plan as it announced an 11.2 percent fall in revenues to $14.8 billion for the final fiscal quarter of 2022.



Google Proposes Fresh Tweaks to Search Results in Europe

The logo of Google LLC is shown at an entrance to one of their buildings in San Diego, California, US, October 9, 2024. (Reuters)
The logo of Google LLC is shown at an entrance to one of their buildings in San Diego, California, US, October 9, 2024. (Reuters)
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Google Proposes Fresh Tweaks to Search Results in Europe

The logo of Google LLC is shown at an entrance to one of their buildings in San Diego, California, US, October 9, 2024. (Reuters)
The logo of Google LLC is shown at an entrance to one of their buildings in San Diego, California, US, October 9, 2024. (Reuters)

Google has proposed more changes to its search results in Europe after some smaller rivals complained about lower traffic to their sites resulting from previous tweaks by the Alphabet unit and as EU antitrust regulators consider levying charges against the company under new EU tech rules.

Under the Digital Markets Act, Google is prohibited from favoring its products and services on its platform. The Act kicked in last year and is aimed at reining in the power of Big Tech.

The world's most popular internet search engine has since then tried to address conflicting demands from price-comparison sites, hotels, airlines and small retailers, among others. The latter three groups said their direct booking clicks have fallen by 30% due to recent Google changes.

"We have therefore proposed more changes to our European search results to try to accommodate these requests, while still meeting the goals set by the DMA," Google's legal director, Oliver Bethell, said in a blog post on Tuesday.

Changes include introducing expanded and equally formatted units allowing users to choose between comparison sites and supplier websites, new formats letting rivals show prices and pictures on their websites as well as new ad units for comparison sites.

"We think the latest proposal is the right way to balance the difficult trade-offs that the DMA involves," Bethell said.

For its search results in Germany, Belgium and Estonia, Google also plans to remove the map showing the location of hotels and the results beneath the map, similar to its old "ten blue links" format from years ago, as part of a short test to gauge users' interest.

"We're very reluctant to take this step, as removing helpful features does not benefit consumers or businesses in Europe," Bethell said.

Google has been in the European Commission's crosshairs since March. DMA violations can cost companies as much as 10% of their annual global turnover.