Chinese computer maker Lenovo looks set to axe 200 jobs at the firm’s headquarters in Beijing.

According to Reuters, which quoted state reports in China on Wednesday, the vendor has cited tough economic conditions for the decision to slash jobs.

The mag said that Lenovo, which acquired IBM’s struggling PC unit for $1.25bn – as well as an assumption of debt – in 2005, plans to announce a major restructuring plan on 8 January that will include a management reshuffle.

Big Blue’s decision to sell its PC unit saw Lenovo take on a business that had suffered nearly $1bn in losses in the three years leading up to the acquisition.

More recently IBM, which still has shares in the unit, has continued to retreat from Lenovo following a series of stake sell-offs over the past year.

According to Caijing Lenovo has frozen hiring at the firm and also plans to fire contractors at its factories.

Lenovo’s president for the Asia Pacific region, David Miller, is reportedly expected to quit. The company’s Chen Shaopeng, who is currently president of the Greater China region, would lead newly merged Greater China and Russian operations with its Asia-Pacific ops.

The firm, which could not be reached for comment at time of writing, saw its profits tank for the quarter ended in September when it pulled in pre-tax income of $39m, down from $125m for the same three months of 2007.

Lenovo's chairman Yang Yuanqing blamed the “global economic downturn” as well as “a shortfall in the execution of our strategic plan” for the vendor’s poor Q2 performance. ®

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