HP planning to trim 30,000 more jobs

SAN FRANCISCO – Hewlett-Packard Co. is preparing to shed up to another 30,000 jobs as the Silicon Valley pioneer launches into a new era in the same cost-cutting mode that has marred much of its recent history.

The purge announced Tuesday will occur within the newly formed Hewlett Packard Enterprise, a bundle of technology divisions focused on software, consulting and data analysis that is splitting off from the company’s personal computer and printing operations.

The spinoff is scheduled to be completed by the end of next month, dooming 25,000 to 30,000 jobs within HP Enterprise. The target means 10 to 12 percent of the 252,000 workers joining HP Enterprise will lose their jobs as part of the company’s effort to reduce its expenses by $2 billion annually.

The cuts expand upon austerity measures that HP has been pursuing for years to offset the damage caused by acquisitions that haven’t panned out and a technological shift from PCs to mobile devices that reduced demand for many of the company’s key products.

HP has already jettisoned 55,000 jobs during past few years under CEO Meg Whitman, who will be the leader of spun-off HP Enterprise.