HP Revenue Drops in Tough Climate
Computer industry bellwether Hewlett-Packard reported a 3 percent drop in revenue as its major lines of business continued to be hammered by the global recession.
Sales of desktop PCs dropped 24 percent, notebooks were down 13 percent and revenue in the company's printer division was down 23 percent.
The company did see improvements in some areas. "We saw improvement in China, and it was material. We saw improvement in U.S. consumer that I wouldn't say was as material," Hurd said. "I just think we're going to need another quarter of data in order to make a meaningful statement about any upturn or anything like that."
HP posted disappointing earnings last quarter as well, as revenue dropped in all of its business units. Hurd responded by imposing wage cuts across the board at HP. He cut his own salary by 20 percent and those of HP's top executives by 15 percent. The company's remaining executives saw a 10 percent wage cut while all other salaries were slashed by 5 percent.
HP had been hoping that these wage cuts would help it avoid layoffs. In a Feb. 18 memo to employees, Hurd said, "I don't believe a major workforce reduction is the best thing for HP at this time."
Hewlett-Packard
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