In America today, Hewlett-Packard says it will lay off 27,000 staff, or about 8% of its workforce, by the end of 2014.
To put that in perspective, the American economy added 115,000 jobs in April. The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits last week was 370,000.
The ailing personal computer maker, which is still the world’s largest, said it faced a 30% decline in second-quarter profit and a 3% decline in revenue for the quarter.
HP saw off two chief executives last year, and current CEO Meg Whitman, a Silicon Valley veteran appointed last September, has been engaged in a massive effort to turn the company around.
Myriam Robin is a reporter for SmartCompany and its sister site LeadingCompany. She has degrees in economics, international studies and journalism. She likes writing about businesses taking risks and doing new things.
