He did it while he was CEO of NCR Corp through cost-cutting. Can HP's new CEO Mark Hurd (pictured) now do it again at HP? 15,000 employees may find out today - the hard way.

In a move expected to save as much as $1.5BN annually, Hurd is widely expected to announce today major cuts in HP's workforce. He will brief analysts and reporters this morning on details of the plan.

"It would be wrong for me to try to take the formula I used at NCR and try to use it at HP," he said back in March, when he was first appointed. "I don't think you'll find me doing anything tricky."

"You can't take what worked one place and magically assume it will work somewhere else. That would be very naive," he said at the time, adding: "I have no preconceived notions about work-force reductions."

Hurd previously spent 25 years at NCR Corp., culminating in his two-year tenure as chief executive officer and president. His leadership was marked by successful efforts to improve operating efficiency, bolster the position of NCR's product line and build a strong leadership team. In fiscal 2004, NCR generated revenue of $6.0 billion, up 7 percent from a year earlier, and net income rose nearly fivefold to $290 million.

Today we will finally learn what he proposes to do for HP's bottom line, and how.