Hewlett-Packard said in a Security and Exchange Commission filing that it is budgeting about $200 million in expenses for workforce reductions for the first half of its fiscal 2005.
The cuts could signal a greater reliance on solution providers as HP shifts more responsibility for sales and service delivery to the channel.
Just last week, HP said it will open SMB maintenance renewal contract sales to solution providers and for the first time will allow solution providers to sell hardware into accounts holding HP Master Services Agreements.
Previously, those sales opportunities were reserved for HP sales and service employees.
Pete Busam, vice president and COO of Decisive Business Systems, a US-based reseller said that one reason HP is pushing more sales and service opportunities to the channel is that "HP needs more feet on the street."
HP said the cuts would be spread across its various business units but declined to say how many jobs would be lost as a result of the layoffs.
In the SEC filing, HP said the layoffs will have a net impact of roughly US4 cents per share in the first half of fiscal 2005.
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