Hewlett Packard to Cut 7,100 Jobs in the EU

According to The Register, HP announced that another 7,095 employees in the EU are to be dismissed, many of them in Enterprise Services. A spokeswoman at HP revealed that in the proposal submitted to the European Works Council (EWC), HP claimed those employees will leave or be adjusted into new roles that better fit the future needs of the company.

The Register says the HP European Alliance, which is a regional body made up of trade unions, has written that it deems HP’s move as a “disgrace” in its letter to The Channel, adding that “Again HP refuses to debate the business logic behind the decision. HP does not communicate the financials and HP does not consult on the impact on the different countries and businesses.”

Further, The Alliance worried that HP is “no longer interested in developing high value-added activities in the EU and refuses to talk to the workforce in an adult way. Employees have become disposable, while they used to be a valued asset in the old HP.”

During its 3Q2013 results 10Q filing, HP said it had slashed 22,700 workers globally under the company’s “Make It Better” redundancy program. Back in June 2012, HP initiated its plan to cut 8,000 jobs in Europe, which is part of CEO Meg Whitman’s plan to shed 27,000-29,000 workers globally by the end of fiscal 2014, to reduce costs and free up R&D dollars.