Do Hewlett-Packard and Dell need to make big job cuts?

As Dell (DELL) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) get ready to announce quarterly earnings, analysts are concerned that the downturn in the global PC market will undermine their results. That assumption seems fair enough. Overcoming a trend that hit every major market in the world is nearly impossible.

In addition to the recession, another factor that could hurt earnings is the rise of netbooks, which can cost as little as $300 and do not produce the margins that $1,000 laptops do. Add into that mix the fact that smartphones like the Apple (AAPL) iPhone now have enough computing power and 3G connectivity to compete with low end PCs.