HP To Cut Some Autonomy Jobs

Hewlett-Packard's Autonomy Software business unit, which was responsible in large part for the whopping $8.8 billion charge against earnings for HP in the fourth fiscal quarter ended Oct. 31, is cutting some jobs.

HP Autonomy Software boss Robert Youngjohns Monday informed Autonomy employees in an internal memo that there will be some job cuts as the result of a "transition" in the Autonomy Aurasma "augmented reality" software business for mobile devices.

AllThingsD first reported on the Autonomy layoffs in December, saying about 70 Autonomy jobs would be eliminated.

[Related: HP's Autonomy Mishap: From High Expectations To High Anxiety ]

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The cuts come after HP said in November that it was taking the $8.8 billion charge after discovering what it called "serious accounting improprieties" by Autonomy, the onetime highly touted cloud software company HP acquired for $11.1 billion in October 2011.

HP fired Autonomy founder Mike Lynch last May after what the company called a significant decline in Autonomy license revenue. Lynch is now engaged in a highly public battle with HP and is denying the claims of accounting improprieties.

In the internal HP memo, Youngjohns, the former Microsoft North American division president who took the top Autonomy job last September, said the job cuts come as a result of the "commercialization and revenue generation" of the Aurasma augmented reality software product. That Aurasma 2.0 scenario includes plans to feature Aurasma in HP's printing business. Among the initiatives, said Youngjohns, is an HP Live Photo app for Apple's iPhone product.

NEXT: Autonomy Software Boss Talks About Job Cuts

"This transition will require some changes to the Aurasma business as we move to the next stage," said Youngjohns. "While a number of roles will remain largely unaffected by this, other roles within Aurasma will no longer be required going forward and some workforce reduction is likely."

At the same time, Youngjohns stressed that the Autonomy business for 2013 is positioned for "growth and success" with new investments including continued investments in research and development, which will result in the hiring of at least "50 additional engineers for Autonomy in the near term to lead new initiatives and further our technical prowess."

"We have three priorities: making customer success the heart of everything we do; building great products with a clear, funded road map; and leveraging the rest of HP to gain access to markets and customers," wrote Youngjohns. "Our priorities are aligned with both HP Software as well as the larger HP, and I am pleased with the progress we've made so far and very optimistic about the future of the business."

As for the job cuts, Youngjohns said HP will "hold individual discussions with employees who may be potentially affected, although the timing will vary by country, will follow the appropriate legal processes relative to reorganizing and workforce reductions. Where applicable, we have consulted with all appropriate Workers' Councils."

PUBLISHED JAN. 14, 2013