HP’S DECISION to exit the PC business is expected to have minimal impact on the company’s 4,000 Irish employees, the vast majority of whom work in other divisions of the technology firm.
HP Ireland declined to comment yesterday but it is understood only a small number work in the personal systems group which sells and markets the firm’s PCs.
Last week HP, once the largest manufacturer of PCs, confirmed it was conducting a review of the division with a view to selling it off or spinning it out into a separate company. The bulk of HP’s Irish staff are based at a technology campus in Leixlip, Co Kildare. In 2008, it moved support staff from offices in Clonskeagh in Dublin city to the campus, now home to over 3,000 staff.
One of the main functions is manufacturing components for HP’s inkjet printers, a business not affected by last week’s announcements. Other functions at Leixlip include finance, research and development, sales and support.
The Leixlip campus has been refurbished and expanded in recent years, and houses facilities for staff including a large canteen, a gym, a medical centre, two banks and a credit union.
HP has expanded globally in the last decade by buying out rivals. This has resulted in its Irish staff numbers rising, making it one of the largest technology employers in the State.
Following the purchase of PC maker Compaq in 2001 – a move effectively undone by last week’s announcement – staff numbers grew by several hundred.
HP has invested over €500 million in its Leixlip operations since they were established in 1995.
It has a software development centre in Galway that it has designated a “global centre of competency” for cloud computing. It also has operations in Northern Ireland, where it has won significant public sector contracts.