Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett-Packard Co. has been a presence in Clark County since 1979. The company initially developed and produced printers in the county, including the revolutionary DeskJet 500 printer, which was introduced in 1990 and became the world’s top-selling printer.
HP employed 3,000 workers in Clark County in 1998, its peak local employment year, according to company records. By 2009, with manufacturing shifted overseas, employment had dropped to just 600 workers. In 2011, it moved its Imaging and Printing Group to much smaller quarters, taking up 68,000 square feet of the former Nautilus Building, 1115 S.E. 164th Ave., in the Columbia Tech Center.
A company spokeswoman said Monday that HP does not release site-specific employment numbers. The Columbian reported ion 2012 that HP employed some 500 workers in Vancouver.
It was unclear Monday what impact the corporate split will have on Vancouver operations.
The company’s only other Pacific Northwest operation is another Imaging and Printing Group office in Corvallis, Ore. The Oregonian reported that HP employs some 1,800 workers in Corvallis, after many rounds of downsizing.