HP to lay off about 27,000 to save $3 billion Updated 4:37 p.m. ET: Computer giant Hewlett-Packard said Wednesday it plans to lay off 27,000 workers, or about 8 percent of its workforce, over the next two years as part of a massive cost-cutting plan. The move will generate annual savings of $3 billion to $3.5 billion as it exits fiscal 2014, the company said in a release. The world's No. 1 personal computer maker also said most of those savings would be reinvested into the company. While some of these actions are difficult because they involve the loss of jobs, they are necessary to improve execution and to fund the long term health of the company. We are setting HP on a path to extend our global leadership and deliver the greatest value to customers and shareholders," CEO Meg Whitman said. The company is offering an early retirement program, so the total number of employees affected will be impacted by the number of employees that participate in the early retirement plan, the company said. Shares of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) rose about 7 percent to $22.48 in after-market trading on news of the company's cost-cutting plan and quarterly results. The share price has fallen nearly 50 percent over the past year. Tech shares were among the day's biggest decliners in the market Wednesday as a weaker-than-expected revenue forecast from Dell Inc, the third-largest computer maker, spurred fears that global tech spending was declining faster than had been previously anticipated. CNBC's Jon Fortt checks on shares of Hewlett-Packard.