HP to cut 24,600 jobs

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) says it plans to cut 7.5% or 24,600 employees over the next three years as part of its integration of IT outsourcer EDS.

The company, which acquired EDS last month in a $14 billion deal, says it expects about half of the jobs to come from U.S. operations.

HP says it now expects to take a $1.7 billion restructuring charge in the fiscal fourth quarter.

The move comes about a week after CFO Cathie Lesjak told investors at a Citi Technology conference that “cost cutting is one of my favorite subjects.” Lesjak said at the time that HP planned to make deeper cost cuts in 2009 than it had in the two prior years.