Hewlett Packard plans to lay off roughly 27,000 employees over the next couple of years to jumpstart growth and save up to $3.5 billion annually, sending its shares 11% higher. The company said the layoffs would be made mainly through early retirement and would generate annual savings of $3 billion to $3.5 billion as it exits fiscal year 2014, when the layoffs are expected to the completed. The world’s No. 1 personal computer maker, which employs more than 300,000 people globally, also said on Wednesday that it had a 31% decline in second-quarter profit and a 3% decline in revenue, compared with a year ago. The results, however, were better than Wall Street expectations.
RIM?s global sales head Patrick Spence quits
The head of global sales at Research In Motion has resigned to take on a leadership role in another industry, the BlackBerry maker said on Wednesday, a major blow ahead of make-or-break product launches due later this year. Patrick Spence was a 14-year RIM veteran widely considered a rising star. A spokeswoman for RIM said Spence’s last day with the company will be June 15. Spence was promoted to the global sales role in July after serving as managing director for Europe, the West Asia and Africa. A source close to the company told the Globe and Mail newspaper that Spence likely stepped down after being passed over for the chief operating officer role recently filled by Kristian Tear, who spent most of his career at Sony Corp, Ericsson, and their Sony Ericsson mobile phone joint venture.
Wiretap played at Gupta insider-trading trial
A New York jury on Wednesday heard former Goldman director Rajat Gupta on a FBI wiretap casually discussing business with Raj Rajaratnam, the now-imprisoned hedge fund founder he is accused of tipping off about boardroom secrets. The 23-minute phone call on July 29, 2008 has no direct connection to the criminal charges against Gupta, but prosecutors played it to jurors to show the cozy relationship he had with Galleon Group founder Rajaratnam and their investments together. Their discussion begins with Rajaratnam telling Gupta he heard a rumor that “Goldman might look to buy a commercial bank” and Gupta’s response is that “this was a big discussion at the board meeting.”Goldman did not acquire any bank.
Shell considering options on bid target Cove
Royal Dutch Shell said it was considering its options regarding Cove Energy, the explorer it is trying to buy, as it extended the deadline for shareholder acceptances in the face of a higher bid from a Thai firm. The takeover battle for Cove, which has a stake in huge gas finds off the coast of Mozambique, heated up on Wednesday after Shell’s $1.8 billion offer was trumped by a $1.9 billion bid from Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production PTTE.BK. Shell said in a statement on Thursday that shareholders would have an extra three weeks to accept its 220 pence per share offer.
Spain?s BBVA says may sell Latam pension biz
Spain’s second largest bank, BBVA said on Thursday it is studying strategic alternatives to some of its non-core activities in Latin America, including the total or partial sale of its pension fund businesses. The group was looking at the potential sale of its pension fund administrators in Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico, it said in a statement to the market regulator. The process would take a number of quarters and would not be completed before the end of 2012, BBVA added.
