Report: HP shutters 850 jobs in Scotland

Palo Alto, Calif, Following its announcement to eliminate 5,700 jobs across its operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Hewlett-Packard said late Thursday that it plans to shed approximately 850 manufacturing positions in a Scotland-based computer plant.

The company based its decision on the negative impact that the economy has had on the computer industry worldwide. HP said that lower consumer demand of computers, printers and IT services contributed to a 17% drop in quarterly profits, according to an article on British news site Times Online.

Following the downsizing, the company plans to move production of servers and storage devices to the Czech Republic to further recover operating costs. 

These job losses are only the beginning, according to the article. Overall, 15,000 of full-time HP employees in EMEA will lose their jobs by May 2011, the article reported.