HP Inc To Shed 500 Jobs In Ireland

The technology giant HP Inc has announced that they will be closing their print business at the Leixlip site in Ireland. As such, it is expected that up to 500 HP employees will lose their job over the next 12 months as HP shifts its focus to growth initiatives such as 3D printing.

HP is known to have a long history in County Kildare as it originally set up the Leixlip plant in 1995 and has been a constant presence since. The unfortunate news of HP closing the print business side marks the closing of an important technology chapter for this area.

3D printing is seen to be a growing area as a market research report estimated that the market for 3D printing will reach around $30.19 billion by 2022. The increasing popularity of 3D printing in all areas including medical, manufacturing, science and much more shows that this area of printing is potentially more lucrative than traditional printing.

HP announced the news with the following statement: “In line with our previously communicated strategy, HP’s global print business is working to drive continuous efficiencies and cost savings that enable investment in new market opportunities and growth initiatives, such as 3D printing.”

Job Cuts Are In Line With HP Announcement

The loss of 500 jobs at Leixlip is in line with the news released in 2016 that HP was planning to cut between 3,000 to 4,000 jobs over the next three years. This is due to attempts by HP to make savings of around $200 million to $300 million per year beginning from 2020 according to a filing they made with the Security and Exchange Commission in the USA.

This all follows the split of Hewlett-Packard into two companies in 2015, HP Inc and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. HP Inc produces hardware such as printers and computers whereas Hewlett Packard Enterprise is an information technology company.