SAN FRANCISCO - Hewlett-Packard plans to jettison 27,000 workers as the growing popularity of smartphones, the iPad and other mobile devices makes it tougher for the company to sell personal computers.
The cuts announced Wednesday represent HP's largest payroll purge in its 73-year history.
The reductions will affect about eight per cent of Hewlett-Packard Co.'s nearly 350,000 employees by the time the overhaul is completed in October 2014.
Hewlett-Packard operates 28 offices across Canada, but it was not immediately clear what impact the layoffs would have in Canada.
In a release, the company said "workforce reduction plans will vary by country, based on local legal requirements and consultation with works councils and employee representatives, as appropriate."
HP said it hopes to avoid as many layoffs as possible by offering early retirement packages.
The company, which is based in Palo Alto, Calif., expects to save as much as US$3.5 billion annually from the job cuts and other austerity measures.
News of the cutbacks overshadowed the release of HP's latest quarterly results. The company's earnings and revenue were both better than analysts projected.
