Hewlett-Packard to Cut 6,000 European Jobs

PARIS (AP) _ Hewlett-Packard Co. told union leaders Monday that it plans to cut a total of 6,000 jobs across Europe, including 1,240 jobs in France, a trade union official said. <br/><br/>The French arm

Monday, September 12th 2005, 9:57 am

By: News On 6

PARIS (AP) _ Hewlett-Packard Co. told union leaders Monday that it plans to cut a total of 6,000 jobs across Europe, including 1,240 jobs in France, a trade union official said.

The French arm of the Palo Alto, Calif., computer and printer maker, HP France, confirmed the cuts in that country, saying in a statement that they were part of a global restructuring plan meant ``to safeguard the future'' of the company.

HP managers earlier told staff representatives that the French cuts were part of a plan to shed 6,000 workers across Europe, Fabrice Breton of the CFTC trade union said in a telephone interview.

Chief Executive Mark Hurd announced plans in July to cut 14,500 jobs and overhaul HP's retirement plan in a restructuring designed to save $1.9 billion a year and help the company become more competitive.

HP has been squeezed between rivals like International Business Machines Corp. at the high end of the market and PC maker Dell Inc. at the low-cost end.

French Deputy Labor Minister Gerard Larcher said Saturday he had asked for a meeting with HP executives to discuss the layoffs, which were widely reported in the French press over the weekend.