Hewlett-Packard Co. announced Thursday that it would review its planned job cuts in France and bring the number under 1,000.

Speaking at a monthly news conference, French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said that after discussions with executives at HP, the company "now allows the possibility of a less severe reduction of jobs," as well as a "strong engagement" of HP in France.

French Labor Relations Minister Gerard Larcher also said that HP's Europe chief Francesco Serafini had told him that the number of proposed job cuts in France was not set in stone and could be reviewed.

HP had said it would cut 6,000 jobs in Europe by 2008, including 1,240 in France.

Source: Xinhua