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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Hewlett-Packard Co. spent about $236 million on employee severance payments and other "work force rebalancing" programs between November and April. HP took restructuring charges of $177 million in its fiscal first quarter and $59 million in its fiscal second quarter, according to a filing Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Palo Alto-based computer maker said the charges would allow it to slash its worldwide work force by approximately 3,000 employees, including 1,600 people who were laid off before April 30. The rest are expected to be terminated by October.
Despite the company's tradition of lifetime employment in the 1980s and 1990s, HP has been downsizing for more than three years, and many rank-and-file employees have gone years without raises. Executives spearheaded a companywide wage review May 1, the first time since 2003.
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