Hewlett-Packard Co accompanied news that it had made $261m net profit for its fiscal first quarter (a decline of 21% before a big accounting charge last time) with news that it cut 1,700 jobs worldwide during the period. It said 1,200 of the 1,700 employees that left during the quarter did so after voLuntarily accepting severance packages, and it expects more departures as the job-cutting programme spreads to new countries. The payroll rose by 500 to 93,100 after consolidation of the 900-strong arm in Brazil. Orders rose 24%, up 18% in the US to $2,100m, foreign by 28% to $3,100m.
