HP Cutting 500 Jobs at webOS Division‎ (Updated)

The layoffs have begun at Hewlett-Packard’s Palm division.

The company, which announced plans to shutter its webOS hardware business back in August, is sacking hundreds of employees as a result.

Sources close to HP say the company plans to lay off as many as 525 employees, and that it began carrying out that dreadful duty this week.

Reached for comment, HP confirmed that layoffs were underway, but declined to provide an actual number.

“As communicated on August 18, HP will discontinue the development of webOs devices within the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011, which ends Oct. 31, 2011,” an HP spokesperson told AllThingsD. “As part of this decision, the webOS GBU is undergoing a reduction in workforce. Today’s actions are part of this initiative. During this time, we stand by our commitment to our webOS customers and will work to ensure that support and service for customers are not adversely affected. HP is exploring ways to leverage webOS software.”