In The Papers 16 September

16-09-2008

by Sylvia Leatham

Irish jobs in doubt as HP cuts 24,000 staff | Babcock & Brown shares take a nosedive

The Irish Examiner says that Irish jobs could be under threat as PC giant Hewlett-Packard announced plans to cut more than 24,000 jobs worldwide. The reduction amounts to about 7.5 percent of its global workforce. The cuts will take place over three years as part of HP's integration of Electronic Data Systems (EDS), whose acquisition was completed in August. HP and EDS have a combined total of around 320,000 employees. Half the job cuts will be in the US. HP employs more than 4,000 staff in Ireland; its main operation is a manufacturing plant at Leixlip in Kildare, where cartridges for inkjet printers are made. The company also has a software and localisation centre in Galway. It was unclear on Monday night whether Irish jobs would be lost as a result of the cuts.

The Irish Independent says that Ireland's mobile roaming rates are competitive, a new study by ComReg has found. Read more on this story on ENN.

The same paper reports that shares in Australian investment firm Babcock & Brown, which owns 8 percent of Eircom, fell nearly 17 percent on Monday, reaching a record low, after its former chief executive resigned his new non-executive director role with the firm. Phil Green told the board that the transition to a non-executive position was a difficult move and not in the best interests of the company, from a corporate governance perspective, or from his own personal position. Green has also resigned from the board of Babcock & Brown Capital, which owns 57.1 percent of Eircom.

The Irish Times says that Newry-based financial software firm First Derivatives has purchased a US technology marketing firm. Read more on this story on ENN.

The paper also notes that Irish retail portal Buy4Now has sold its US subsidiary, as reported by ENN on Monday.

The same paper says that small and medium-sized firms could save EUR200 million annually on their energy bills by availing of a Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) service, the State energy body has claimed. SEI says its free energy assessment service can reduce bills for businesses by as much as 20 percent. To date, 500 SMEs have availed of the service and made combined savings of EUR25 million.

Separately, the paper says that consumers are set to have electricity meters replaced with "smart meters" that offer functions such as the intelligent use of cheap-rate electricity. Read more on this on ENN.

According to the Financial Times, US consumer electronics retailer Best Buy is to acquire music download provider Napster for USD121 million. Best Buy executives highlighted the significance of its Napster Mobile platform, launched in 2006, which could complement Best Buy's efforts to expand its own mobile sales through its growing relationship with the UK's Carphone Warehouse. In March this year, Best Buy invested USD2.1 billion in a joint venture that will run Carphone's European retail stores, including the opening of its first Best Buy stores in the UK next year.

The paper also says that difficulties facing the controversial search advertising pact between Google and Yahoo have intensified, as it emerged that European antitrust regulators were looking into whether they should launch their own review of the alliance. The European Commission said the regulator was scrutinising the alliance to see if it contravened European competition law. Meanwhile, an international association that represents newspaper trade groups in many parts of the world voiced its own opposition, claiming that the pact would leave Google with "unwarranted market power over important segments of online advertising".

The Wall Street Journal reports that T-Mobile USA plans to begin selling the first smartphone powered by Google's Android mobile software next month, according to sources. While some mobile companies working with Android have hit delays, the T-Mobile phone is coming out on schedule. Backers are optimistic Android-based handsets can take sales from rivals such as Apple's iPhone and Research In Motion's BlackBerry device.

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