Up to 6,000 jobs are to go at HP worldwide in the next three years as the US computer and printer maker increasingly adopts AI to speed up product development. Announcing a lower-than-expected profit outlook for the coming year, HP said it would cut between 4,000 and 6,000 jobs by the end of October 2028. It has about 56,000 employees.
“As we look ahead, we see a significant opportunity to embed AI into HP to accelerate product innovation, improve customer satisfaction and boost productivity,” said the California company’s chief executive, Enrique Lores. He said teams working on product development, internal operations and customer support would be affected by the job cuts. He added that this would lead to $1bn (£749m) savings a year by 2028, although the cuts would cost an estimated $650m.
HP had already cut between 1,000 and 2,000 staff in February as part of a restructuring plan. It is the latest in a run of companies to cite AI when announcing cuts to workforce numbers. Last week the law firm Clifford Chance revealed it was reducing business services staff at its London base by 10% – about 50 roles – attributing the change partly to the adoption of the new technology. The head of PwC also publicly cut back on plans to hire 100,000 people between 2021 and 2026, saying “the world is different” and AI had changed its hiring needs.
HP posted better-than-expected revenues of $14.6bn for its fourth quarter. Demand for AI-enabled PCs continues to increase, and they made up more than 30% of HP’s shipments in the fourth quarter to 31 October. However, it forecast between $2.90 and $3.20 in adjusted net earnings per share for the coming year, below analysts’ forecasts of $3.33. It said the outlook reflected added costs from US trade tariffs.
