Hewlett-Packard Co exectives have acknowledged that the company’s $475m acquisition of Apollo Computer Inc could cause up to 750 people to lose their jobs as plants are closed, and may require the Palo Alto, California company to take pre-tax charges of up to $30m to cover the costs this fiscal year. According to Electronic News, Apollo’s proprietary RISC-based Domain 10000 high-end workstation is not too long for this world – Hewlett says it will be phased out in a few years, although a significantly upgraded version is in the works for later this year or early next. The company believes that 750 people, 17% of Apollo’s workforce, will be surplus, but some may be offered other jobs; no specific plants have yet been identified for closure, but all 68040 boxes are likely to be manufactured at a single plant.
