What Economic Recovery? HP to layoff up to 48,000 more employees! Texas to be hit hard? Idaho’s printer factory targeted? Blame lack of recovery in Europe!

23 May 2012, Hewlett-Packard (HP) is expected to layoff another 25,000 employees according to an unnamed source, reported in a CNN/Fortune article.

The original report of the 25,000 job cuts came from Bloomberg on 17 May 2012.  It includes about “…10,000 to 15,000 from Hewlett-Packard’s enterprise services group.”  HP’s enterprise services is headquartered in Plano, Texas.

However, on 16 May 2012, Business Insider reported that HP wants to layoff up to 15% of its employees. “Layoffs are going to be significant.” HP has about 320,000 employees, if they go for a 15% cut that’s 48,000 people losing their jobs!

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is reporting that HP will report huge losses after the stock markets close today, 23 May. The WSJ Market Watch is expecting HP to report a quarterly earnings decline of 27%, with overall revenues down by 5%.

Fox News reporting that HP is suffering from the bad economy in Europe, which makes up 37% of HP’s business: “The increasing uncertainty and resulting macro weakness in Europe will likely act as an ongoing headwind to growth.”-Chris Whitmore, Deutsche Bank Securities

CNN is reporting that “Many of the job cuts are expected to come from the printing unit.” Back in march, HP announced it was merging its computer and printer factories.  However, this is not the first time HP has combined computer and printer production.

The last attempt was made in 2005, and was reversed six months later.

According to the IdahoStatesman, more than 50% of HP’s Boise, Idaho operation is printing and imaging.  When the IdahoStatesman questioned HP’s Boise campus boss (back in March), he claimed he was unaware of the merger of computer and printer operations.

Hewlett Packard has been slashing and burning ever since 2009, when employees got a 5% pay cut.  Then in 2010, about 9,000 jobs were cut. In February 2012, 275 people lost their jobs due to the canceling of HP’s webOS.