Ailing tech giant Hewlett Packard said Tuesday that it would slash 14,500 jobs in a bid to compete with rivals like Dell and IBM, dpa reported. The cut of almost 10 per cent of the company's 150,000 strong workforce will be completed by the end of 2006 and save the company some 1.9 billion dollars a year. Hewlett Packard said it would incur a pre-tax restructuring charge of 1.1 billion dollars. The move represented the first major effort by CEO Mark Hurd to trim the Silicon Valley pioneer since he came to Hewlett Packard from NCR in April. "After a thorough review of our business, we have formulated a plan that will enable HP to begin delivering its full potential," Hurd said in a statement. "We can perform better - for our customers and partners, our employees and our shareholders - and we will." "Our objective is to create a simpler, nimbler HP with ... clear accountability and greater financial flexibility." HP said the majority of cuts would come in support functions, such as information technology, human resources and finance. The remainder will come in its business units, which include its computer server and its software businesses.
