Computer maker HP to cut up to 6,000 jobs by 2028 as it turns to AI | Hewlett-Packard

Up to 6,000 jobs will be created globally at HP over the next three years as the US computer and printer maker increasingly embraces artificial intelligence to speed up product development.

Announcing lower-than-expected profit expectations for next year, HP said it would be cut 4,000 to 6,000 jobs by the end of October 2028. It has approximately 56,000 employees.

“Looking ahead, we see a significant opportunity to embed artificial intelligence at HP to accelerate product innovation, increase customer satisfaction and increase productivity,” said Enrique Lores, CEO of the Californian company.

Teams working on product development, internal operations and customer support will be affected by layoffs, he said. It added that this would save $1bn (£749m) a year by 2028, but the cuts would cost an estimated $650m.

News of the job cuts comes after a leading education research charity warned that up to 3 million low-skilled jobs could disappear in the UK by 2035 due to automation and artificial intelligence. The National Foundation for Educational Research said the jobs most at risk are those in occupations such as trades, machinery operations and administrative roles.

Nearly 40% of jobs in the United States could be replaced by artificial intelligence in industries ranging from education and healthcare to business and law, according to a report released this week by the McKinsey Global Institute.

Analysis by a US consultancy found that AI agents and robots could automate more than half of working hours in the US using technology available today. It is estimated that an economic value of $2.9 trillion could emerge in the United States by 2030.

Many of the roles at risk are in legal and administrative services, where tasks such as data entry, financial processing and document drafting will likely be performed by AI systems; but humans will still be needed for design, inspection, and verification. Dangerous, physical jobs such as operating machinery may be replaced by robots.

HP had already laid off 1,000 to 2,000 staff in February as part of its restructuring plan.

It is the latest in a string of companies citing artificial intelligence when announcing cuts to their workforce. Last week law firm Clifford Chance announced it would reduce business services staff at its London headquarters by 10% (around 50 positions), attributing the change in part to the adoption of new technology.

PwC’s chief executive also publicly announced plans to hire 100,000 people between 2021 and 2026, saying the “world is different” and artificial intelligence is changing hiring needs.

Klarna said last week that AI-related savings had helped the buy now, pay later company almost halve its workforce due to natural attrition, with departing staff being replaced by technology rather than new staff, signaling further role reductions.

Many U.S. tech companies have announced job cuts in recent months as consumer spending cools due to high prices and a government shutdown.

Executives across industries hope to use AI to speed up software development and automate customer service. Cloud providers are purchasing large amounts of memory to meet the computing demand of companies developing advanced AI models such as Anthropic and OpenAI, leading to an increase in memory costs.

The push by major tech companies to build AI infrastructure has triggered price increases for dynamic random access memory and NAND semiconductors, two commonly used types of memory chips, amid high competition in the server market.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley said rising memory chip prices as demand from data centers increased could increase costs and reduce profits for HP and rivals such as Dell and Acer.

“Memory costs are currently 15% to 18% of the cost of a typical computer, and while an increase was expected, that rate has accelerated in the last few weeks,” Lores said.

HP posted better-than-expected revenue of $14.6 billion in the fourth quarter. Demand for AI-enabled PCs continues to grow, and these PCs accounted for more than 30% of HP’s shipments from the fourth quarter through October 31.

However, adjusted net earnings per share for the coming year are estimated to be between $2.90 and $3.20; This is below analysts’ estimates of $3.33. It was stated that the outlook reflects additional costs resulting from US trade tariffs.

HP shares fell as much as 6% after the layoffs were announced.