There are reports that Hewlett-Packard may shed hundreds of jobs at its plant in Leixlip, Co Kildare.

Fears have emerged for some 4,000 Irish workers after global IT company Hewlett-Packard announced a second wave of job cuts that will see up to 35,000 employees lose their jobs globally.

Hewlett-Packard is splitting into two companies, using a breakup to become nimbler after failing to keep up with the shift away from the printing and personal computing businesses it pioneered.