SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Striving for Dell Inc.'s efficiency and IBM Corp.'s breadth, Hewlett-Packard Co. yesterday said it will cut 14,500 jobs and overhaul its retirement plan in a move that all but buries the legendary company-employee bond known as the "HP Way."

The computer and printer maker once known for treating employees like family said it will save $1.9 billion a year as it trims its global work force of 151,000 by 10 percent over the next 18 months.

HP did not specify where jobs will be lost. But executives said support jobs will be most affected -- in information technology, human resources and finance -- as they weed out inefficiencies.

"Cost structures and revenue growth go hand-in-hand," said Chief Executive Mark Hurd, who has been on the job four months. "We know that only by having a competitive cost structure can we compete aggressively in the marketplace, thereby growing the company for our employees, customers and shareholders."

Hurd was hired away from NCR Corp. with a mandate to perform painful surgery that HP's board had sought but failed to obtain from Carly Fiorina. The board fired Fiorina as CEO in February.

Yesterday's was just the latest in a series of moves by the Palo Alto company to become more competitive in an industry dominated by lower-cost rivals. Critics contend that such moves have obliterated the workplace philosophy espoused by William Hewlett and David Packard, who founded HP in 1939. But Hurd, like his predecessor, argues that the changes are necessary.

Rivals including Dell in computers and IBM in consulting services have managed to squeeze higher profits. At the same time, HP's highly profitable printer and ink business is coming under increasing threat. Though HP has remained profitable, its stock has underperformed most of its rivals.

Shares of HP fell 40 cents to close yesterday at $24.52 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The company's stock has risen some 19 percent since Jan. 1, but remains well below its peak during the technology boom.

Left unresolved, however, is how HP can turn its size and position into new sales and persuade customers that its products are better than offerings from Dell or IBM.

For years, HP has derived most of its profits from the sale of printers and ink. In an attempt to strengthen its computer offerings, HP acquired Compaq Computer Corp. in 2002 in an acrimonious proxy battle. The $19 billion purchase didn't reap the benefits Fiorina promised, and the company briefly considered splitting itself up into several parts.

Just before Fiorina's firing, she merged the weak PC business with the profitable printer division -- a move that Hurd reversed.