HP cuts salaries

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/084/1051084/hewlett-packard-cuts-salaries

"The math is pretty straight forward. From a productivity standpoint, you’re supposed to reduce headcount on par with declining revenue. If you believe the environment isn’t going to improve, you should take a bigger cut to get in front of the problems. You can do the calculation, as easy as I can. We have about 100,000 people in our product businesses, with revenue down roughly 20%, and an environment that may not get any better in 2009.I’ll be asked by investors, “Where’s the job action, where are you taking out this roughly, 20,000 positions?” Well, I don’t want to do that. When I look at HP, I don’t see a structural problem of that magnitude. There are pockets where restructuring needs to happen, and areas where actions will be taken as part of our ongoing workforce optimization process. But at a company-wide level, I don’t believe a major workforce reduction is the best thing for HP at this time."
...
Mark Hurd

Huge strike of EDS workers in Germany

At the beginning of December 2008, management was asked to enter into negotiations in respect of a collective agreement for EDS in Germany covering the following three main issues:
1. A collective labour agreement, including guarantees regarding the future of existing sites
2. A collective agreement to secure existing working conditions
3. A pay increase for 2009

Four warning strikes have been organised by the unions at all German EDS OS location since February 2009 following management’s refusal to negotiate. A meeting between management and trade union representatives was actually held on 28 April but no headway was made regarding the negotiations.

The result of last week’s strike ballot conducted by IG Metall and ver.di, the two German trade unions concerned, was overwhelmingly in favour of a full-scale strike : 96,55% EDS OS employees participated in the ballot, 91,92% voted in favour ! The strike starts on 4 June. The EMF supports the current struggle by the EDS OS workers and calls on affiliates, in order to increase the pressure on the company management and avoid any strike-breaking measures:
· to send messages of support to the unions and works councils
· to ensure that EDS and HP employees working in Europe do not accept any activities that may be transferred from Germany.

We wish the EDS-OS workers every success in their legitimate struggle.

In solidarity,

Yours fraternally,

Peter SCHERRER
General Secretary

EMF

Switzerland: a letter of union Kommunikation to HP requesting social dialogue

Bern, 27. Mai 2009

Aufforderung zur Aufnahme des sozialen Dialogs mit der ANV und der Gewerkschaft Kommunikation

Sehr geehrter Herr Kryhlmand

Wir haben zur Kenntnis genommen, dass HP sich bereit erklärt hat die zukünftigen Arbeitsbedingungen gegenüber den EDS Mitarbeitenden zu verbessern. Gleichwohl stellen wir mit Bedauern fest, dass sich HP weigert, auf die Vorschläge der ANV für die Erarbeitung eines Gesamtarbeitsvertrages einzutreten und zudem das Vertretungsrecht der Gewerkschaft Kommunikation in Abrede stellt. Dies, obwohl an der gemeinsamen Aussprache vom 16. März 2009 das Vertretungs­recht der Gewerkschaft Kommunikation von Ihrer Seite nicht bestritten war.

Wie bereits im Rahmen des Konsultationsverfahren von Seiten der ANV und der Gewerkschaft Kommunikation festgehalten worden ist, müssen wir erneut feststellen, dass HP offenbar weder an einem konstruktiven Dialog zur Verbesserung der Arbeitsbedingungen noch an einer nachhaltigen Sicherung der Arbeitsplätze in der Schweiz interessiert ist. Wie aus den Verlautbarungen Ihres Unternehmens zu entnehmen ist, genügen HP/EDS die 10-prozentigen Kosteneinsparungen im Rahmen der angekündigten Massenentlassungen nicht. Durch die von HP/EDS vorgeschlagenen Massnahmen zur Festlegung der neuen Arbeitsbedingungen – nach der erfolgten Übernahme von EDS durch HP – sollen offensichtlich weitere Sparmassnahmen auf Kosten der Beschäftigten erfolgen, indem die Arbeitsbedingungen verschlechtert werden.

Die von der ANV eingereichten Eckwerte für die Verhandlungen bezüglich der zukünftigen Arbeitsbedingungen bei HP sind von HP/EDS allesamt zurückgewiesen worden, ohne eine inhaltliche Diskussion zu führen. Es geht nicht an, dass die Arbeitsbedingungen in der Schweiz weniger sozialen Schutz bieten als in den anderen HP-Niederlassungen in Europa. Es liegt auf der Hand, dass bei weiteren Restrukturierungen HP dort Personal abbauen wird, wo die kleinsten sozialen Kosten für die Unternehmung entstehen. Für ein Unternehmen, das am öffentlichen Beschaffungswesen der Schweiz partizipiert, ist dies eine nicht tolerierbare Haltung.

In Absprache mit der ANV ersuchen wir Sie, uns einen Besprechungstermin zu unterbreiten für die Aufnahme eines sozialen Dialoges. Das Ziel des sozialen Dialoges ist es, einen Prozess einzuleiten der zur Verbesserung der zukünftigen Arbeitsbedingungen im Rahmen eines Gesamtarbeitvertrages beiträgt.

Sollte sich HP weigern, auf den sozialen Dialog mit der ANV und der Gewerkschaft Kommunikation einzutreten – und zwar ohne Vorbedingungen –, werden wir entsprechende gewerkschaftspolitische Massnahmen ins Auge fassen. Wir sind überzeugt, dass eine sozialverträgliche und nachhaltige Lösung im gegenseitigen Interesse ist.

Mit freundlichen Grüssen


Giorgio Pardini
Vizepräsident Gewerkschaft Kommunikation

- Kopie geht an:
- die ANV EDS
- KV Schweiz,Zürich, Hr. Benedikt Gschwind
- Uniglobal Union, Nyon, Hr. Gerd Rhode

HP confirms UK job cut rumours

VNUNet, 5/28,

HP has confirmed rumours that it plans to axe thousands of jobs, after protests by UK trade union Unite. The company has submitted a proposal to its European Works Council to cut over 5,700 staff in EMEA. HP has around 80,000 employees in the region.

HP is also set to offshore its enterprise, storage and server production plants in Scotland and Germany to a partner in the Czech Republic by 2010. Although HP will not comment on exactly how many UK workers will be affected, Unite puts the figure at around 850. Staff were informed of the news today, and a report from Unite was released shortly afterwards informing the public of the cuts. Unite has condemned HP's decision to move manufacturing jobs offshore, pointing to HP's profit of £1.1bn in the most recent quarter. Unite has also called on the UK government and Scottish Parliament to increase investment in the UK's manufacturing sector. "Westminster offers no meaningful investment, and Holyrood does not even recognise manufacturing as a key plank of its economic plan," said Unite Scottish regional secretary John Quigley. "When over £900bn of public funds can be poured into bailing out the banks, it is utterly unacceptable that help cannot be directed into a sector that is fundamental to nurturing our economic revival."

Downing Street responded by listing ways in which it is helping manufacturers through the global downturn, such as the Enterprise Finance Guarantee that supports £1.3bn of lending to small businesses, the HMRC Business Payment Support Service that allows companies to defer paying tax, and the Manufacturing Advisory Service that offers advice on cost savings. "We know how tough it is for manufacturers. Our manufacturing is bearing the brunt of the global downturn because it is deeply integrated into global supply chains, and supplies global markets," said a spokesman for the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

Meanwhile, HP's offshore move was questioned today by the Scottish Parliament. The plant, based in Erkskine, employs 1,300 people, more than half of whom are likely to lose their jobs."This is a company which has made a profit of some £5.2bn in 2008 due in part to the hard work of the men and women in my constituency in Erskine," said Labour MSP Trish Godman, according to an Associated Press report.HP recently announced plans to cut its global workforce of over 320,000 by two per cent, in addition to previously imposing a five per cent pay cut across all operations.

Does H.P. Need a Dose of Anarchy?

A must read : New-York Times article on HP and Mark hurd

Another 6,400 workers to lose jobs at HP

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. is cutting 6,400 more workers -- or 2 percent of the company's total work force.

It will come over the next year as part of HP's huge acquisition of Electronic Data Systems.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP was already dumping 24,600 workers as part of that acquisition before announcing the extra cuts Tuesday.

The announcement came in a conference call with analysts to discuss HP's fiscal second-quarter results.

HP's profit dropped 17 percent to $1.72 billion, while sales fell 3 percent to $27.4 billion, in the latest period.

Solidarity @ HP/EDS

On this new site, you will find a UNI/EMF Blog for HP and EDS employees

UNI is the Global Union for skills and services.We represent 900 trade unions and 20 million workers worldwide

The EMF is the representative body defending the interests of workers in the European metal industry. The EMF has a mandate for the external representation and coordination of the metalworkers' unions and a mandate to engage in bargaining at European level.

Recent topics :

The hard fight for a company agreement with EDS in Germany
Prime Minister write to Volker Smid

HP, IBM, Sun Execs Blast Obama's Protectionist Policy

Information Week :

While touring India this week, execs from Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Sun criticized the Obama administration's anti-outsourcing policies as unrealistic, claiming they fly in the face of the global economy and will not produce positive results.

Noting that HP has far-flung labs in India, Costa Rica, and Europe, HP senior VP Marius Haas said, "It’s a competitive economy and you go where the talent is," according to the Economic Times of India. Haas, who leads HP's ProCurve business, also said, "The local sourcing push by the U.S. administration is unlikely to be effective in a globalised world."

IBM's Edward Orange, emphasizing that IBM manufactures products and delivers services in 170 countries, echoed Haas's point: "IBM goes wherever the talent and the market is." Orange is the Asia-Pacific director for IBM's Lotus unit, the article said.

Sun's Joe Hartley was even more blunt: "The policy may shrink global trade in the long run. Not every job can be outsourced. But a job has to be done at the right place and at the right time," according to the Economic Times, which also offered these statistics:

Indian subsidiaries of U.S. companies such as IBM, Sun, Microsoft, Oracle, and HP together employ over 150,000 people. IBM, which has more than 70,000 employees in India, sees no merit in U.S. government’s protectionist policies.

HP hits UK workers with canteen, car, pension cuts

The Register :

Hewlett-Packard and EDS employees in the UK who are currently bracing themselves for pay cuts can now expect to see food subsidies axed, a pension scheme shake-up and changes to their car allowances.

HP told workers yesterday in a memo seen by The Register that prices in the company’s canteens would be jacked up, fewer meal choices would be on offer and a review of opening hours at some sites was also underway. It said the changes to its restaurant facilities would come into effect on 30 March. Meanwhile, HP is also consulting with employee reps about possible changes to the company’s various retirement plans for both HP and EDS staff. It has proposed that its HP Plan (HP and Digital Sections) and EDS Retirement Plan final salary pension arrangements could see changes that mean either an “increased cost to employees or a reduction in future benefit accrual”.

In addition the firm is considering a reduction in its contribution to the HP pension scheme.
HP revealed its latest efforts to keep a lid on costs as it continues to undergo a painful restructuring strategy involving the loss of thousands of jobs worldwide. In the memo penned by HP UK and Ireland managing director Steve Gill and EDS regional vice president Sean Finnan, the company also reiterated its pay cut plans that were first announced last month. HP said it’s seeking consent from senior managers and all EDS “pay-banded” staff to agree to salary reductions of between 2.5 and 15 per cent by 20 April. Those 700 or so UK-based employees who accept the pay cut will see changes brought in on 1 May.

The company plans to then move to a second round of salary reductions in June in which it will ask all employees in the UK to consent to a pay cut that will be effective from 1 September this year. Late last week HP confirmed its EDS employees in the US and Puerto Rico would have their base salaries cut an additional ten per cent for April 2009 only.

It admitted some workers would temporarily suffer a second drop in pay to help HP execs steer the services outfit through tough economic conditions. UK's largest union Unite slammed the move describing it as "trigger happy management actions more akin to the Wild West in the 19th century".

HP chief faces tough questions at annual meeting

HP chief executive Mark Hurd underwent a grilling from investors at the company's annual general meeting this week.

Hurd faced questions on increased competition in the server space, after Cisco's announcement that it is entering the market in partnership with VMware, and rumours that IBM may buy Sun Microsystems. The HP chief claimed that he was unconcerned by the Cisco move, and refused to comment on the speculation about IBM and Sun."I do not remember a day where the market wasn't competitive. I think you'll continue to see competition in the market," Hurd told the meeting. "I couldn't be more confident in the future of HP."

The agenda for the meeting contained just two official items: the re-election of board members; and the choice of a new accounting firm. Hurd then faced questions from shareholders, one of which concerned his own pay, and in particular the $42m (£29m) bonus he has received. Hurd said that figure was tied to HP's performance over the past three years, and that he did not expect to make as much in the coming years.

Another question concerned how Apple, a company with a research and development budget one third the size of HP's, could have a better market capitalisation. Hurd maintained that Apple was very competitive, and said that he is researching ways to bring more technology to market from HP Labs over the coming year.

H-P shareholders give board members another term MarketWatch, 3/18

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. shareholders on Wednesday voted at the company's annual meeting to give the ten members of the company's board of directors each another one-year term. The board members are H-P Chief Executive Mark Hurd, Lawrence Babbio, Sari Baldauf, Rajiv Gupta, John Hammergren, Joel Hyatt, John Joyce, Robert Ryan, Lucille Salhany and G. Kennedy Thompson. Board member Richard Hackborn chose to not stand for re-election. H-P shareholders also approved Ernst & Young as the company's independent public accountant.

NO !

TO ALL EDS / HP PERSONNEL

The common trade union front at HP / EDS call upon you not to accept the individual request for salary reduction.

It is unacceptable that:
- the local unions were not informed.
- the employer addresses individual employees.
- the need for this reduction is unclear and on top of the serious restructuring currently in progress at EDS.
- nothing is given in return (eg. Guarantee on job security, temporary aspect of the measure, -sacrificed pay must eventually return to the employees,…).

You can’t be forced to accept this salary reduction, you have the right to refuse without motivating why.

Management confirms that saying NO to the individual request for reduction will not have negative consequences for the individual.

Above point of view will further be commented on the employee meeting of 9 March.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have additional questions or comments.

Common Trade Union Front EDS & HP
ACLVB BBTK LBC-NVK

Belgium

HP/EDS “frozen day” was a success throughout Europe

Press release

The second European action day jointly organized by UNI-Europa and the EMF
throughout the continent to protest against HP/EDS restructuring plan, and its
consequent salary freeze, benefit cuts and redundancies proved to be a success. The
action was named “frozen day” in reference to the announced salary freeze.

In Germany, actions were organized in virtually all locations with staff meetings
reaching 100% participation in certain places. More than 900 employees gathered in
Rüsselsheim while the Bremen steelworks account was left empty. Workers in
Ludwigsburg used their lunch break to meet with their colleagues in Böblingen to discuss
the situation.

Smaller meetings also attracted a lot of interest as the one in the Sal Oppenheim
subsidiary. In Schweinfurt, IT employees from the former SKF even gave a hand to their
colleagues to organise the demonstration. Under the motto “Yes to HP, but only if
everyone is included” the action day received very good press and TV coverage in the
country.

Unfortunately, EDS management refused negotiations for a collective bargaining
agreement on job security, safeguarding of current terms and conditions of employment
and pay increase. On the contrary, they threatened the workers’ council with the closure
of other locations. This lead ver.di and IG Metall to call for a joint strike at 14 German
sites on February 10th.

Links to videos on strike in Germany (10.02.09):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_xHJdS8uqw&NR=1 (HR) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OI5IhE2O1Y&feature=channel_page (RTL) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rcb3SZB55ns (Wuppertal) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAOdWlvUdag&feature=related (Ludwigsburg)

This action was supported by Spanish colleagues from EDS group of Comisiones
Obreras (CCOO COMFIA) who sent a solidarity letter in which they declare that “such a
reduction of labor entails dangerous levels of stress among workers and jeopardizes the
quality of service provided to customers and thus the business of this company”.

In France, a major demonstration was organised on January 29th in different cities. It
proved to be very uniting since workers from HP, IBM and EDS walked together under a
common banner to fight the antisocial policies of their employers with all trade unions
involved. The strike got very good media coverage with a major French TV relaying the
event in Paris.

In Belgium, a protest was held on Friday morning in front HP building in Diegem
addressing a number of open issues (workforce reduction, salary freeze, EDS integration,
social plan ...). Delegations from HP CDS, EDS and other HP sites joined to form a group
of 200 people. In the afternoon a meeting which was agreed prior to action took place
between union reps and HP management and resulted in an agreement on the HP social
plan.

In the UK, tech workers asked for “no compulsory redundancies” while union members
demonstrated outside the company site in Bristol. The union Unite said the “credit
crunch is not the problem. Short termist greed is the issue”.

Two strikes were organised at HP/EDS Italy during January in cities like Milan, Rome
and Bari. Although the participation rate reached 95% in certain cases, management
didn’t react.

More than 160 employees from HP and EDS jointly attended, physically or by phone, a
one hour meeting held by HP management in Austria after an action day took place at
HP’s headquarters in the country. Both EDS and HP’s works councils decided to work
together in order to solve common issues on frozen salaries, bonuses and allowances.

When it comes to Sweden, HP corporate management announced that the firm will cut
compensations and benefits but the bonus programs are maintained. The Swedish Union
Unionen can't accept this state of fact and is asking to meet with the management in
order to discuss bonus programs, the use of external consultants and the maintenance of
employment benefits.

As for the Netherlands, the union FNV Bondgenoten is examining the reduction plans
after a satisfactory agreement was reached regarding a social plan and expressed its full
solidarity with all the above mentioned actions.



Finally, it has also to be said that workers in Hungary are suffering job losses due to the
closure of several EDS centres in the country.
___________
EMF is the representative body defending the interests of workers in the European metal
industry.
UNI-Europa is the European trade union organisation for skills and services.
For further information please contact:
Isabelle Barthès, EMF Policy Advisor on Company Policy +32(0)2 227 10 12
Gerd Rohde, UNI-Europa + 41 792 02 19 28

High Tech Misery in China, HP involved

The Dehumanization of Young Workers Producing Our Computer Keyboards

"We feel like we are serving prison sentences.”

A must read !

Hurd got pay valued at $42.5 million or $34 million in '08, depending on how you calculate...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --

Hurd, 52, saw the value of his compensation in fiscal 2008 jump 31 percent over the previous year, according to AP calculations. The increase reflects the prosperous period HP enjoyed before the economic meltdown hammered the stock and cut into HP's profit.

Hurd also exercised $10 million worth of stock options and had $15.7 million worth of HP stock vest during the period, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday by the Palo Alto, Calif.-based technology company.

The biggest chunk of Hurd's raise came from cash incentives based on HP's performance during the 2008 fiscal year, which ended Oct. 31 and was a banner year for the company. For the year, HP's profit rose 15 percent to $8.3 billion, while sales climbed 13 percent to $118.4 billion. Those were big gains for a company the size of HP, which has faced questions from Wall Street about its ability to continue improving sales and profit margins at a steady clip.

Hurd, who joined HP in 2005 to engineer a major turnaround after the rocky reign of former CEO Carly Fiorina, has answered by aggressively cutting costs and positioning the company as a bigger challenger to IBM Corp. through the $13.9 billion acquisition of technology services provider Electronic Data Systems.

At the end of 2005, HP had sales of $86.7 billion and profit of $2.4 billion. When the company's current round of job cuts is complete -- HP is slashing 24,600 positions, nearly 8 percent of its 320,000 workers -- Hurd will have cut nearly 40,000 jobs in two big rounds of layoffs since he took the job. Under Hurd's watch, HP has also regained its title of world's biggest personal computer manufacturer from Dell Inc., though Dell has been stealing some of that ground back with a new retail strategy.

Hurd's changes have helped HP's bottom line but they did little to soothe investors' nerves in 2008, when HP's stock price bounced around before falling off sharply in September and October as the financial crisis worsened. The stock lost more than 25 percent of its value during the fiscal year. Many analysts say HP is vulnerable to the slowdown because of its exposure to the ailing consumer market through its personal computers and lucrative printer ink, and because it relies heavily on hardware sales, which have suffered as companies freeze information-technology spending.

Still, Hurd was rewarded in 2008 for steering the company to "exceptional and sustained" financial performance in his first three full years on the job. Hurd pulled down $23.9 million in performance-based cash bonuses in 2008, according to the filing, which was almost twice as much as the $13.3 million in cash bonuses he snagged in 2007.

Hurd, 52, was also rewarded with $7.9 million worth of stock-based compensation during the period, nearly $3 million less than in 2007. Hurd's compensation package also included more than $738,000 worth of additional compensation for things like: home security ($256,000), personal use of HP's corporate jet ($135,734) and a $71,000 mortgage subsidy Hurd is guaranteed for relocation expenses under his employment agreement.
Hurd's salary of $1.45 million increased only slightly over 2007.

HP also revealed in its proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Richard Hackborn, an instrumental figure in building HP's printer division who served 33 years with HP before retiring in 1993, has decided not to stand for re-election to the board of directors at HP's annual shareholder meeting set for March 18. Hackborn has been an HP director since 1992.
The Associated Press' calculations of total pay includes salary, bonus, incentives, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. The calculations exclude changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the SEC.

In comments : depending on how you calculate, Hurd saw the value of his compensation in fiscal 2008 jump 68 percent over the previous year to $42.5 million !

Enough !

Mark Hurd to employees, November 24th : "We will take aggressive action on discretionary spending…And we’ll implement a number of cost saving initiatives that are going to be tough and that some people aren’t going to like…"

And now, the list of actions on "discretionary spending" :

- There will be no salary increases, except where legally required
- EAwards are suspended
- Comprehensive benefit reviews are continuing on a country-by-country basis to harmonize HP and EDS offerings based on market practice.
- Recognition and learning & development programs are also affected
...

Huge success of the first European action day in HP and EDS on 13th November

European Metalworkers’ Federation and UNI-Europa call for
mobilisation throughout Europe

Today, HP and EDS the trade unions and the workers have demonstrated their determination to reject the management plans to downsize the workforce and cutback the terms and conditions in HP/EDS by successfully mobilising and undertaking protest action in most of the European countries where HP and EDS have locations.

In Germany, workers and works councils’ meetings have been organised during three consecutive days.
In Austria, workers’ assemblies took place in front of headquarters in Vienna.
In Belgium as well as in Sweden, information meetings for workers have been organised during working hours in the different sites. Leaflets, pamphlets, badges and campaign material have been distributed.
In Spain, workers rallied in front of the different EDS buildings for 15 minutes.
In Italy, in the wake of the protest actions organised on 21 October, a two hour strike took place in the sites of Rome and Napoli. Flyers were also distributed to the population.
In the United Kingdom, actions to raise workers and people’ awareness were undertaken outside the larger HP/EDS sites.
In France, demonstrations took place in front of the buildings in most of the HP/EDS sites. In all EDS offices outside of Paris, a day or half a day of strike was organised.
Signatures against management plans have been collected in several countries, amongst them Germany, Denmark, Switzerland and Hungary.
In Italy and United Kingdom lobbying initiatives have been undertaken towards members of Parliament.

In the light of this successful European-width mobilisation the trade unions and workers’ representatives will meet shortly to discuss and prepare future actions.
___________
The EMF is the representative body defending the interests of workers in the European metal industry. The EMF has a mandate for the external representation and coordination of the metalworkers' unions and a mandate to engage in bargaining at European level.
UNI-Europa is the European trade union organisation for skills and services.
For further information please contact:
Editor, Peter Scherrer, EMF General Secretary
Isabelle Barthès, EMF Policy Advisor on Company Policy +32(0)2 227 10 12
Gerd Rohde, UNI-Europa + 41 (0)1 792 02 19 28

Caroline Jacobsson
Information & Communications adviser
*******************************
European Metalworkers' Federation, EMF
Fédération Européenne des Métallurgistes, FEM
Europäischer Metallgewerkschaftsbund, EMB
International Trade Union House (ITUH)
Boulevard du Roi Albert II, 5 (bte 10)
B-1210 Brussels
cjacobsson@emf-fem.org
www.emf-fem.org
http://www.gmworkersblog.com/
http://www.precariouswork.eu/
Phone: +32.2.227.10.54
Fax: +32.2.217.59.63

European trade unions act against compulsory redundancies

Press Information ▪ Press Information

European trade unions act against compulsory redundancies
and the cutback of benefits at HP and EDS

Demands on European action day on 13th November

Trade union and European Works Council representatives from HP and EDS have already made it clear on several occasions that they will not accept a merger of two companies merge with the aim of downsizing (see EMF press releases of 8th September and 15th October 2008). They have called on the new management to explain how and where the new merged company would grow and how this would benefit its employees. They reject the plans to lay off 9,330 workers. These plans exceed the ‘worst scenario’ expectations held by many.

Against this background, the European trade unions have decided to call on all HP and EDS workers to mobilise on 13th November in a demonstration of European solidarity against the management’s plans.

On 13th November, EMF and UNI-Europa affiliates throughout Europe will undertake local/national actions as a sign of protest against plans for mass redundancies and cutbacks in benefits. They will call for alternative solutions aiming at safeguarding jobs and securing a sustainable future for their companies.

On this day of unity and solidarity, they will call on management to:

- provide full information and proper consultation with the trade union/employee representative bodies both at European and national levels;
- recognise the employees’ right to bargain collectively and to negotiate social plans;
- stop any compulsory redundancies;
- provide a detailed plan for redeployment and re-skilling for those whose jobs are at risk and prepare for anticipated skills shortages;
- create the conditions for the establishment of a new EWC to be built on the best elements and practices of the existing EWCs.
___________
The EMF is the representative body defending the interests of workers in the European metal industry. The EMF has a mandate for the external representation and coordination of the metalworkers' unions and a mandate to engage in bargaining at European level.
UNI-Europa is the European trade union organisation for skills and services.

For further information please contact:
Editor, Peter Scherrer, EMF General Secretary
Isabelle Barthès, EMF Policy Advisor on Company Policy +32(0)2 227 10 12
Gerd Rohde, UNI-Europa + 41 (0)1 792 02 19 28

Letter to Mark Hurd

Mr. Mark HURD
President Hewlett Packard
3000Hannover Street
Palo Alto
CA93304 – 1185
USA

Brussels, 20th October 2008

Dear M. Hurd,

Re: HP/EDS workforce reductions in Europe

We are writing to you, as European trade union federations representing the HP/EDS workforce across Europe, and following meetings on 8 September and 15 October attended by both union and European Works Council representatives from 10 countries.

Our position is as follows:

- HP/EDS management should ensure that it meets its obligations to provide full information and proper consultation with the trade union/employee representative bodies both at European and national levels. It has failed to do this so far at European level.
- HP/EDS management should recognise the employees’ right to bargain collectively and enter into negotiations on the social consequences of their planned decision.
- HP/EDS management should not proceed with any compulsory redundancies/layoffs.
- HP/EDS management should provide a detailed plan for redeployment and re-skilling of the existing workforce in order to fill current and anticipated skills shortages as an alternative to redundancies in this reorganisation.
- HP/EDS management should create the conditions for the establishment of a new EWC which will capitalize on the best practices of each EWC agreement.

The trade unions will not accept that HP and EDS merge in order to downsize. They want the new combined company to say where and how it will grow and how this will benefit its employees.

Accordingly we would appreciate your commitment to provide the following:
- Full financial information on the savings HP/EDS wishes to make across Europe
- Full employment information for the next 3 years, including the total employee number for each year across Europe and broken down per individual countries

A detailed presentation on the future goals and development plans across Europe

The European Commission is currently reviewing the European works council Directive. We believe that the lack of full and meaningful information and consultation by HP/EDS with the trade union/employee representative bodies at European level is a glaring example of why there is a need for the EWC Directive to be strengthened.

We do hope that you will arrange for the information set out in paragraphs (a) to (c) above to be made available, by 7 November where possible.

You should understand that we are currently considering HP as a potential case to be raised with the European Commission and the European Parliament, as an example of why the European Directive needs strengthening. This is a will inevitably expose HP to unwelcome publicity.

We trust that such actions will not be necessary and look forward to your early response.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Scherrer Bernadette Ségol
EMF General Secretary UNI-Europa Regional Secretary

International Trade Union House (ITUH)Boulevard du Roi Albert II, 5 (bte 10)B-1210 Brussels
Tel: +32/(0)2/227 10 10
Fax: +32/(0)2/217 59 63
http://www.emf-fem.org/ ▪ emf@emf-fem.org
UNI-Europa
31, rue de l’Hôpital
b-1000 Brussels
Tel : +32 2 234 56 56
Fax : +32 2 235 08 70
http://www.uni-europa.org/

More information in the comments about EDS +HP employees from Germany and Italy in action again (picture above from Germany). Massive European Action Day : Novembrer 13th

Italian EDS unions already hold industrial actions (sept 22nd)

COMUNICATO STAMPA

Eds Italia. Calitri (Fiom): “Primo risultato dell’azione sindacale: un incontro con l’Azienda fissato per il 6 ottobre”. Oggi sciopero oltre il 90% e manifestazione nazionale a Roma

“Il grande successo dello sciopero odierno dimostra quanto sia profonda la preoccupazione diffusa tra i lavoratori di Eds Italia per il proprio futuro, e quanto sia stata forte la motivazione che li ha portati ad aderire all’iniziativa di lotta assunta oggi dai sindacati dei metalmeccanici Fim, Fiom, Uilm.” Lo ha detto Canio Calitri, coordinatore nazionale Fiom-Cgil del gruppo Eds Italia.

“Secondo i dati in nostro possesso – ha spiegato Calitri – le adesioni allo sciopero di 8 ore proclamato per oggi hanno superato il 90%. Un risultato già alto di per sé e altissimo se si considera che questa cifra è stata raggiunta in un’impresa collocata in un settore come quello della Information and communication technology, in cui il sindacato non ha mai avuto uno dei suoi punti di forza.”

“Del resto - ha proseguito Calitri - la convinzione dei lavoratori nell’aderire all’iniziativa sindacale è stata ben visibile nella manifestazione che si è svolta oggi a Roma. Al corteo, che da piazza della Repubblica ha raggiunto piazza Barberini, hanno partecipato infatti oltre 1.000 lavoratori, ovvero circa il 50% dei metalmeccanici dipendenti dalla multinazionale Usa nel nostro Paese.”
“L’iniziativa di lotta – ha ricordato Calitri – è stata assunta per difendere l’occupazione dai tagli che sono stati annunciati da Hewlett Packard dopo l’acquisizione di Eds, e per protestare contro la disdetta degli accordi aziendali comunicata il mese scorso dal management di Eds Italia. Lo sciopero e la manifestazione odierni hanno già ottenuto un primo risultato. Una delegazione degli scioperanti è stata ricevuta al ministero dello Sviluppo Economico che ha fissato, per il 6 ottobre, un incontro con l’Azienda sulle sue prospettive produttive e occupazionali.”

Eds Italia conta circa 3.000 addetti, di cui 2.000 con il Contratto dei metalmeccanici. I siti produttivi dell’Azienda sono collocati a Roma, Pomezia, Pozzuoli, Bari, Torino, Milano e Siena. A fine agosto, Hp ha acquisito Eds formando una multinazionale del settore Ict forte di oltre 300mila addetti. L’Azienda ha però annunciato tagli occupazionali che, a livello globale, potrebbero raggiungere le 25mila unità.

Fiom-Cgil/Ufficio Stampa
Roma, 22 settembre 2008

9.300 job cuts announced at European WorkCouncil (HP + EDS)

HP said on Thursday that its Europe, Middle East and Africa division would account for up to 9,300 job cuts over two years out of 24,600 previously announced cuts following its purchase and integration of EDS. Country numbers should be known on Oct, 6th. EWC urge Management to think redeployment instead pure workforce reduction.

HP surprises Wall Street with size of EDS job cuts

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Extracts :

When Hewlett-Packard Co. announced five months ago it was acquiring technology-services firm Electronic Data Systems Corp., Wall Street expected big layoffs from the combined company.

But the size of the job cuts -- 24,600 jobs over the next three years, nearly 8 percent of HP's 320,000-employee work force -- came as a shock when HP laid out its plans Monday for integrating EDS.

"Today's story is kind of an eyebrow-raiser -- I was surprised at the magnitude of the cuts," said analyst Bob Djurdjevic with Annex Research.

The cuts represent HP's most aggressive cost-cutting move yet under Hurd, who engineered the $13.9 billion acquisition to challenge IBM Corp. for more of the lucrative, long-term business of helping companies manage their computing infrastructure.

Most of the cuts will come from within EDS's ranks, and nearly half will be jobs in the U.S., HP announced Monday after the stock market closed. HP said it plans to eventually add about half the positions back as different jobs in different departments within the company.

Some of the areas expected to get hit include the finance, human resources and legal departments, areas where there are traditionally overlapping duties within combined companies.

HP had not previously detailed how many employees of the combined company would lose their jobs. Before the acquisition, HP had 178,000 people and EDS had 142,000.

HP expects to save $1.8 billion per year from the cuts once the restructuring is complete. The company will incur a $1.7 billion charge in the current three-month period, its fiscal fourth quarter, for a goodwill adjustment and other costs connected to the restructuring.

At a conference with financial analysts Monday, HP Chief Financial Officer Cathie Lesjak said the EDS deal is expected to add to HP's net profit in the 2010 fiscal year.

As huge as the reductions are, they're not the biggest in tech history.

One of the biggest challenges facing Hurd has been finding new ways to improve sales at a company that last year cracked $100 billion in revenue for the first time while keeping Wall Street happy with improving profit margins.

Hurd has been aggressive about cutting costs since he was hired in 2005. His first big act was a major restructuring that eliminated nearly 15,000 jobs.

European trade unions demand full information and consultation from HP in EDS takeover

Press release :
More than forty trade union representatives from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Sweden, UK, Italy and the Netherlands, met on 8 September to discuss the Hewlett-ackard (HP) takeover of Electronic Data Systems Corporation (EDS) at a meeting organised jointly the European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF) and UNION NETWORK INTERNATIONAL (UNI).

Participants expressed concerns about the possible effects on employment and working conditions of the take over of EDS by HP. They also voiced discontent about the lack of information provided by both EDS and HP managements so far.

The meeting :
1) Called on HP management to ensure full and meaningful information and consultation with the trade union/employee representative bodies both at European and national levels prior to decision-making;
2) Expressed their opposition to any compulsory redundancies/layoffs;
3) Urged HP management to provide a detailed plan for redeployment and re-skilling of the existing workforce to fill current or anticipated skills shortages as an alternative to redundancies in the event of reorganisation.

UNI and the EMF will closely monitor the impact on the workforce of any proposals expected to be announced by HP management on 15 September and with affiliated trade unions take all possible steps to safeguard the interest of the workers.
___________
The EMF is the representative body defending the interests of workers in the European metal industry. The EMF has a mandate for the external representation and coordination of the metalworkers' unions and a mandate to engage in bargaining at European level.

For further information please contact:Editor, Peter Scherrer, EMF General SecretaryIsabelle Barthès, EMF Advisor on Company Policy + 32 2 2271057UNI Head Office, Avenue Reverdil 8-10, CH- 1260 NYON, Tel: + 41 22 365 2100
________

HP laying off in Corvallis

Portland Business Journal :

Eugene television station KVAL reports that employees at HP’s Corvallis plant began receiving layoff notices Monday. In a statement, the company said its imaging and printing group announced in June its plans to “realign and streamline” by reducing its business units from five to three. Some parts of the imaging and printing group “will experience reductions while investments will be made in high growth segments of the business,” the company said.

HP is reported to employ about 2,500 people in Corvallis, and 1,000 in Vancouver, Wash. The company declined to confirm these numbers. These two locations, along with a site in Boise, Idaho, are part of HP’s imaging and printing group.

Recent reports in The Oregonian and The Columbian have said HP plans to lay off as many as 300 people in Corvallis, and that some engineers and marketing employees in Vancouver could be told to find work with other HP divisions. HP is also reported to have put its 174-acre Vancouver campus up for sale, with plans to lease it back. HP declined to comment the matter.

EDS and HP Unions : already working together in France

May 20th : hundreds of EDS France employees on strike to fight back WFR and site closures, HP France Unions were there. Same day : IBM France also on strike, for salaries.

HP-EDS merger could lead to services job cuts

"We're looking to streamline our overhead," Shane Robison, HP's chief strategy officer says.

Research and consulting firm Technology Business Research Inc. is predicting fairly substantial cuts. The firm noted that H-P's services division and EDS will have a combined headcount of about 209,000 workers. "The addition of EDS will be a drag on [H-P's service] margins, and CEO Hurd will be aggressively targeting efficiencies," the research firm said in a note. "TBR expects that initial headcount reductions will be at least 10% to 15% of the combined headcount."That would mean 20,000 job cuts or more, although the consulting firm didn't speculate on how those cuts would be divided between EDS and H-P employees.

HP to buy EDS for $13 billion-plus; biggest HP deal since Compaq purchase

Three obstacles that HP and EDS will need to overcome in order for the deal to succeed :

1/Go global : U.S information-technology services companies are in a period of upheaval right now due to the emergence of companies in countries like India that can do a lot of the same work at a cheaper price. IBM and Accenture have both adapted to the new global marketplace, adding staff around the world. EDS and H-P have been slower to globalize. In order for the combined company to substantially improve its margins and win customers looking to cut costs, it will need to shift more work overseas.

2/ Vendor independence : one of EDS's hallmarks was that it didn't have a vested interest in selling its customers software and hardware from any one tech vendor. That independence is now gone: Even if H-P services tries to position itself as vendor agnostic, customers will still be suspicious every time they receive a recommendation for H-P equipment. One mitigating factor: The PCs and other tech equipment H-P sells is fast becoming a commodity. H-P CEO Mark Hurd could be betting that in a few years businesses won't care what company they buy this equipment from because it will all be the same.

3/ Culture clash : forget about how well EDS's suit-wearing consultants will fit in California. The bigger culture clash is between a product-centered company, H-P, and one focused on operations, EDS. Of course, the combined company will be so large and operate in so many different places that it's hard to imagine these legacies mattering as much as, say, how the new company adapts to the various cultures around the world it is sure to expand into.

Source : Peter Allen, a partner at the outsourcing-advisory firm TPI.

HP and journalists settle spy claims

CNET

HP settled claims on Wednesday with four reporters at the heart of a scandal involving claims that the world's biggest PC maker engaged in corporate espionage to plug a boardroom leak. HP and Terry Gross, the attorney representing the journalists, said the company would donate money to several charities chosen by the journalists as part of the terms of the settlement. They did not say how much.

"The matter has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties, and we are pleased to put this matter behind us," said Hewlett-Packard spokesman Emma McCulloch. She said the company was pleased the money would go to charities.

The scandal, which came to light in late 2006, focused on allegations that Hewlett-Packard hired investigators who impersonated reporters, board members, and employees to obtain private phone records to find the source of leaks to the media in 2005 and 2006. The two sides have been holding settlement discussions since December 2006, Gross said. "It was hard fought to get to a resolution," Gross told Reuters. "I would have expected that they would have taken a tone a long time ago that was basically 'We did wrong. We should make up for it,'" he said. A separate lawsuit filed against HP by three CNET News.com reporters is still pending in a San Francisco court. Those reporters were not part of this settlement.

Hurd Rebuilds HP by Debating `Every Single Dime'

Bloomberg, extr. :
Mark Hurd : "What we want to do is develop a culture that says, `Iwant to debate every single dime,'' . His cuts include spending on jobs, data centers, realestate and even file cabinets... Hurd's next challenge may be weathering a U.S. slowdown. Hurd plans to keep focusing on costs. Last year, the company generated $12 million an hour in sales while spending$11 million on operations. He wants to widen that gap.``I've had a chance to work around high-profile maniacs like Tom Siebel and seasoned guys like Lou Gerstner,'' formerleaders of Siebel Systems Inc. and IBM respectively, said TomHogan, hired by Hurd in February 2006 to run the software unit.``Mark is the most operational CEO I've ever seen". Hurd learned operations at Dayton, Ohio-based NCR Corp.,which he joined in 1980 as a field salesman.
...
`The more you leave the kids in the room to figure it out on their own, the more trouble you're going to get,'' Hurd said. He punctuates almost every sentence with numbers -- marketstatistics, growth rates -- and draws on a flip chart. When he joined HP, expenses were rising as fast as revenue, he said. Within three months, Hurd announced plans to slash 10 percent of the workforce, or 15,000 jobs, to save $1.6 billion a year. He pared retirement benefits to save$300 million. In 2006, he announced plans to replace 85 aging datacenters with six state-of-the-art facilities. That will cut such costs to 2 percent of revenue by early 2009 from 4 percent in 2005. All these moves helped profit more than double to $7.26billion last year from 2004.``If Carly was operating at the 35,000-foot level, MarkHurd is operating from 500 feet,'' said James Post, a professor of management at Boston University.

Hurd has admitted making mistakes. After a spying scandalin 2006 led to the resignation of HP's chairman, two directors and the general counsel, Hurd took responsibility for a probe into boardroom leaks that grew into a plot to spy on directors and reporters. He acknowledged his failure to supervise the investigators and won the backing of investors and analysts after he pledged to repair the company's image.
...

More cuts are planned, including combining call centers in the U.S., Hurd said. HP also aims to pare realestate outlays a third in two years by ``taking advantage of the fact that people are mobile and they don't come into the office every day,'' Chief Financial Officer Cathie Lesjak said. ``We don't have a lot of file cabinets that are necessary.' 'That doesn't mean HP isn't investing in thebusiness, Hurd said. It spent about $7 billion last year on acquisitions, mostly software companies, and made $3 billion in capital expenditures.``You get the strategy right, get the operating model right, get the people right, I mean generally, good things happen to you,'' he said.

HP CEO gets $26M in 2007 pay

HP CEO Mark Hurd received compensation the company valued at $26 million for the 2007 fiscal year. Hurd, 51, took home $1.4 million in base salary, another $1.4 million in bonus money and nearly $12 million in cash incentive payouts.

Hurd also received shares of restricted stock valued at $6.8 million and stock options worth nearly $4 million during fiscal 2007, which encompasses the 12-month period that ended Oct. 31. Also included in Hurd's pay package was $515,000 in additional compensation, including more than $138,000 in restricted stock dividends, nearly $126,000 in expenses for home security services and a mortgage subsidy of about $111,000.

In addition, Hurd made $4.8 million on stock options he exercised, and he had $7.4 million worth of HP stock vested during the latest period. The company has cut costs by consolidating data centers and corporate offices and aggressively slashing its headcount, including the elimination of nearly 15,000 jobs in a massive restructuring launched shortly after Hurd's arrival as CEO and completed in October.

Some 3,000 workers also left the company as part of an early retirement program that HP initiated last year. Investors have been pleased with the changes. Since Hurd took the reins of HP in April 2005, the company's stock price has more than doubled, from around $20 to more than $40 today, a rise that has created more than $50 billion in additional shareholder wealth.

The Associated Press' calculations of total pay include executives' salary, bonus, incentives, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. They may vary from totals that companies report.
HP calculated that Hurd's pay package was worth $25.3 million.

" Is the work of colleagues at HPS poorer ? "

Variable Performance Bonus heavily criticized by German Works Council (first comment)

Businessperson of the Year !

Business Week names Mark Hurd Business Person of the year !

An Open Letter to the Director of HP Corporate Human Resources

An Open Letter to the Director of Corporate Human Resources, Marcela Perez de Alonso, by the Five French Unions :

Marcela,

Our approach may appear unusual, however if the five Unions present within HP France have agreed to address you directly, it is to invoke a disturbing situation which has generated a lot of emotion amongst HP’s French employees, and which unfortunately has not proved to be solvable through usual consultation and negotiation processes.

The radical changes to the Range Setting which sets employee’s paygrade according to Job Function have lead to the following situation in France:

· Mainstream Population: 73.2% of employees suffer a decrease of 1 to 2 paygrades, whilst only 2.7% increase by one paygrade

· Sales Population: 40.7% of employees suffer a decrease of 1 to 2 paygrades whilst only 3.8% increase by one paygrade

This announcement was received as a shock by French employees, and has been difficult to accept for three reasons:

1 - Loss of confidence in the rating mechanism :

Most people accord importance to the Job and Wage architecture as a way to position their value to HP and career progression. Proceeding with such massive paygrade degradations have provoked feelings of personal devaluation, and has directly lead to the mistrust of the job and rating mechanism. It has disappointed HP employees who saw their efforts rewarded in the wage and earnings system. Consequently these massive degradations are undermining employees’ motivation and morale.

2 - France unfairly affected :

Whilst EMEA as a whole is impacted by a drop in paygrades for an average 20% of the workforce, France is affected to the tune of about 60%. What might appear elsewhere as an adjustment to the system, because of the massive scale of degradations in France it is seen by many as a sanction of French employees.

3 - Lack of transparency :

Prior to this new range setting, French HR had always justified the positioning of pay grades in France as being market-compliant. The explanations for the new mechanism of range setting are presented as: "Market research, revision of the “competitive index”, new policies "on the pay grade ranges”. But neither Union Representatives nor their appointed Experts have received communication of the new market research or how they apply to jobs within HP France. This makes the exercise completely opaque, and it is impossible for us to understand or verify. The underlying logic of a very important change to pay market analysis from one fiscal year to another remains totally incomprehensible, and through lack of justification it cannot be serenely embraced by employees.

Faced with this situation, and on several occasions, the French Unions have invoked the frustration and incomprehension expressed by employees, both to HR France (Pierre-Yves Tilly) and to the France Country Manager (Yves de Talhouët). Pressed by employee meetings at all French sites and petitioned by over 1800 signatures, the unions have asked for:

· A moratorium on the application of the new range settings
· The provision of information needed to gain a detailed understanding of the motivations behind the changes in order to be able to discuss in a concerted manner their adaptation to the HP France population.

HR France appears to have understood our arguments and our discontent, and apparently requested to HR Corporate a moratorium on the implementation. However their response is that this has been refused. However, HP France employees have difficulty assimilating these changes, and do not wish to internalise their loss of confidence and hopes, and their frustration. Since no further progress on this issue seems possible in France, we hereby are informing you of the situation in France and ask you formally for a response to our requests:

· A moratorium on the implementation of the measure
· Access to the detailed information which underlay the changes to the range setting system so that we can openly negotiate their application in France.

Finally, we would also ask you to respond to this open letter by explaining directly to french employees the foundation and the benefits of these changes as well as any clarifications that you consider appropriate to address the unhappiness that the measures have provoked.


Best regards,

The Five French Unions.

Employee talks : "Industry benchmark excuses"

"HR, speaking for management, sends out notes each time cuts in benefits, elimination of retirement plans, job re-classifications and even office cube-size reductions are announced. The notes justify the reductions by basically saying, "After careful analysis of what is going on in the market, it was found that HP was being too generous to its employees and is lowering the benefits to be more in line with market conditions."

Interestingly, while externally we are trying to set the industry agenda, internally it oftentimes feels like we are on a race to the bottom of the pack, using industry benchmarks as excuses.

I know it is self-serving to complain about what I have lost and I know that cutting costs in our business is a fact of life for the rest of our lives. Yet, I wonder how much more can be squeezed out of us before the career becomes just a job — and the job is done just according to spec. If my pay and benefits are set by the industry benchmark, should the quantity and quality of the time I spend on the job also be industry-average ? "

HP to Buy Back $8 Billion of Stock

Supreme Court rejects Hewlett-Packard's efforts to block class action suit

AP

The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed a class action lawsuit to proceed against Hewlett-Packard Co. that alleges Compaq, now a part of HP, sold defective computers.

The Supreme Court's action lets stand a 2005 ruling by an Oklahoma state court. The case involves a lawsuit by two Oklahoma residents, Stephen and Beverly Grider, who allege that Compaq Computer Corp. sold them a defective computer and didn't repair or replace it, as called for in the company's warranty.

The Griders sued in June 2003 and their lawyers asked the state court to certify a class of 1.7 million people who had bought similar computers. Their request was granted in 2005.
Compaq was purchased by Hewlett-Packard in 2002.

Class action suits allow numerous plaintiffs with similar claims to proceed in a single trial. Businesses usually oppose such designations given the greater damage awards that can result.
Compaq argued in court papers filed with the Supreme Court that a virtually identical lawsuit was brought in Texas in 2000. In that case, the Texas Supreme Court refused to certify a class action, ruling that Texas law shouldn't apply to out-of-state members of the class.

Nevertheless, Oklahoma's highest court not only certified the class, but said that Texas law should be applied in the case because, among other things, Compaq was headquartered in Texas.

Compaq's lawyers said that under the full faith and credit clause of the Constitution, which requires states to honor each others' laws and court rulings, Oklahoma shouldn't be able to apply Texas law when Texas' highest court has reached the opposite conclusion.

HP scandal: where are they now?

San Jose Mercury News

The HP spying scandal ruined careers, decimated family businesses and sullied previously sterling reputations. Here is a brief update on the key players:

* Tom Perkins, partner emeritus, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, former HP board member. Perkins blew the whistle on HP's investigation after learning his phone records were obtained by investigators. At press time, he was in Europe on his massive yacht, the Maltese Falcon, with a crew from "60 Minutes." His autobiography, "Valley Boy," is due from Penguin Nov. 5.

* Patricia Dunn, former chair. Hewlett-Packard Dunn initiated two internal investigations into boardroom leaks while chair of HP. She resigned from the board in September 2006. The California attorney general dropped felony charges against her in March. Dunn is spending time with her family, trying to stay healthy and fight cancer. She has also given talks on the lecture circuit.

* George "Jay" Keyworth, former HP board member. Keyworth resigned from HP's board in September 2006, acknowledging that he was the source of an article on CNET about a management retreat to discuss strategy. He is chairman of the Progress & Freedom Foundation, a Washington think tank, and on the board of General Atomics.

* Larry Sonsini, chair, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. As HP's outside counsel, Sonsini interviewed board members about leaks to the press in 2005 for then-CEO Carly Fiorina, and in 2006 his firm was asked by HP to investigate its use of pretexting during the subsequent boardroom leak probes. At the end of last year, he was replaced as HP's outside counsel, though his company still does legal work for HP.

* Ann Baskins, former general counsel HP. After a 24-year-career with HP, Baskins resigned as the company's head attorney on the morning of a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C. Married to a Wilson Sonsini lawyer, Tom DeFilipps, Baskins is not currently practicing as an attorney.

* Kevin Hunsaker, former ethics chief HP. Hunsaker, a lawyer, was the person who ended up running the investigation to uncover the boardroom leak. In June, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Ray E. Cunningham dismissed pretexting charges against Hunsaker after he completed 96 hours of community service during which he worked for the Fair Housing Law Project, a community legal aid service.

* Ron DeLia, Security Outsourcing Solutions of Boston; Matthew DePante, Action Research Group of Melbourne, Fla.; Bryan Wagner, a data broker in Littleton, Colorado. Charges against outside investigators Delia and DePante were dismissed after they performed community service. Wagner pleaded guilty to two felonies; sentencing is set for Oct. 3. DeLia's company is still operating, but the scandal has had a "devastating" personal and financial impact, said his lawyer, John Williams. The DePantes were both "financially and emotionally devastated," said attorney Susy Ribero-Ayala. "They shut down their business. It took a toll on their family."

50.47 $ !!!

Reporters, Family Sue HP in Spy Scheme

FT, AP : "HP's boardroom-spying scandal was back in the spotlight on Wednesday after a group of reporters and their families sued the computer maker over its controversial internal investigation into the identity of a boardroom mole.

Five separate lawsuits claiming "illegal and reprehensible conduct" were filed in San Francisco Superior Court against Palo Alto-based Hewlett-Packard, former Chairwoman Patricia Dunn and Kevin Hunsaker, the company's former ethics chief.

The lawsuits allege invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and engaging in unfair business practices. They seek unspecified damages and a jury trial. "We're filing the lawsuits to make sure this never happens again," said Kevin Boyle, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs.

HP said it apologized to each of the people affected by the spying probe and made a "substantial" settlement offer. "Unfortunately, rather than respond to the offer, they have decided to sue," HP said in a statement. "HP is disappointed by their decision and will defend itself."

The lawsuits come nearly a year after HP disclosed in a Sept. 2006 regulatory filing that investigators used a tactic called "pretexting" -- or pretending to be someone else to obtain private information from companies -- to spy on board members, journalists and their families.
The next month, California's attorney general charged Dunn, Hunsaker and three private investigators with four felony counts each -- including fraud, identity theft and conspiracy.

Those charges were later dropped, with a Santa Clara County judge calling their conduct a "betrayal of trust and honor" that nonetheless did not rise to the level of criminal activity.
Separately, HP agreed to pay $14.5 million in a civil settlement with the state, most of which was slated to fund investigations into privacy rights and intellectual property violations.

The U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco brought charges against one of the investigators, Bryan Wagner, who pleaded guilty to two felony counts of identity theft and conspiracy in the case. His sentencing is set for October in San Jose federal court.

Judge Drops Remaining Charges in HP Case

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -

A Santa Clara County judge dismissed the remaining charges against three defendants in the Hewlett-Packard Co. boardroom spying case Thursday, calling their conduct a "betrayal of trust and honor" that nonetheless did not rise to the level of criminal activity.

Superior Court Judge Ray E. Cunningham followed through on a deal reached in March to drop reduced fraud charges if the defendants -- former HP ethics chief Kevin Hunsaker and private investigators Ronald DeLia and Matthew DePante -- each completed 96 hours of community service. The move ended the state's role in a case that ensnared some of the top officials at the venerable HP, now the world's largest technology company by revenue. A federal investigation is continuing.

Hunsaker and the two private investigators, who had pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of fraudulent wire communications, were accused of illegally obtaining the phone logs of directors, journalists and HP employees in an effort to identify board members leaking confidential information to the media. In tossing the misdemeanor charges, Cunningham praised the California attorney general's office for its investigation of HP's ill-fated effort to root out the source of boardroom leaks, but said the defendants' actions were not criminal at the time they occurred.

"At worst, the conduct in this case amounted to boardroom politics and a betrayal of trust and honor, rather than criminal activity," the judge said, according to a transcript of his remarks supplied by the attorney general's office. The judge said the investigation nevertheless "achieved much public good," including helping spur the passage of state and federal legislation specifically outlawing "pretexting," or pretending to be someone else to secretly secure copies of their private telephone logs. In addition, the state reached a $14.5 million civil settlement with HP in December, the bulk of which is slated to fund state and local investigations into privacy rights and intellectual property violations.

Ralph Sivilla, a deputy attorney general, said after the hearing that state prosecutors still think criminal conduct occurred, but that the office was satisfied with this resolution of the criminal case because of the "chilling effect" the HP investigation had on similar sleuthing tactics. Thomas Nolan, one of Kevin Hunsaker's defense lawyers, said the defendants paid a "pretty heavy price" in being prosecuted and that "the people at HP, everyone, felt they were doing the right thing and basically didn't believe they were committing any crime.

"The judge's comments and the ultimate dismissal of the charges backed up that belief, Nolan said after the hearing. Five people, including former HP Chairwoman Patricia Dunn, were originally charged in October with four felony counts in the HP probe: use of false or fraudulent pretenses to obtain confidential information from a public utility; unauthorized access to computer data; identity theft; and conspiracy to commit each of those crimes. Charges against Dunn, who was accused of orchestrating the spying effort, were dropped in March. State charges against private investigator Bryan Wagner were also dropped, but only after he pleaded guilty to two federal felony counts of identity theft and conspiracy in the case. Wagner's sentencing is set for October in San Jose federal court, and the federal probe is ongoing.

HP CEO, CFO, EVP Exercise Options...

In a form filed with the SEC, Mark V. Hurd reported he exercised 100 000 options for $21.73 apiece and then sold 150,000 shares on the same day for $45.25 to $45.86 a piece.

Catherine A. Lesjak, CFO, reported she exercised 11,755 options for $15.75 apiece and then sold a total of 23,490 shares on Thursday and Friday for $45.34 to $45.70 a piece.

Executive VP Shane V. Robinson (strategy and technology officer) exercised options on 125,000 shares for $15.75 to $22.02 a piece. He sold the shares the same day for $45.26 and $45.38 each.

Open market purchases and sales of insiders must be reported within two business days of the transaction.

HP estimates FY07 revenue will be $100 billion

"While we still have considerable work ahead of us, I am confident we can continue to execute with discipline and deliver strong financial returns."

Mark Hurd

Journalists sue over HP spying scandal

journalists targeted in the HP phone tapping scandal are to sue the company for invasion of privacy. Dawn Kawamoto, Stephen Shankland and Tom Krazit have hired Los Angeles law firm Panish, Shea & Boyle which is currently preparing the suit. The three journalists, who all work for CNET's News.com, make up a third of the nine journalists targeted by private investigators.

Lawyer Kevin Boyle said that the trio are not seeking financial restoration, but are asking for punitive measures to be taken against HP. HP began the investigation to try and locate the source of a boardroom leak last year. However, investigators used illegal methods such as obtaining phone records for the journalists and their relatives by deception, otherwise known as pretexting. CNET Networks said that it was not part of the lawsuit but could launch its own action separately.

HP had hoped to settle the case by making a $250,000 donation on behalf of each journalist to a charity of their choice. Felony charges filed in the case against former HP chief executive Patricia Dunn were dismissed. Out of four other defendants facing felony charges, three were eventually charged with misdemeanours. HP has already settled a civil lawsuit filed by California's attorney general for $14.5m (£7.3m).

Federal government joins lawsuits against HP, Sun, Accenture

The U.S. Department of Justice threw its weight behind a whistleblower lawsuit against HP, Sun and Accenture, alleging that the companies violated federal claims laws by improperly charging government agencies for several years' worth of technology contracts.

In documents filed on April 12 and unsealed Thursday, the DOJ alleges that H-P, Sun and Accenture each "solicited and provided improper payments and other things of value," on technology contracts with several U.S. government departments and agencies from the late 1990s to the present.

H-P, Sun and Accenture are charged with making false claims to the U.S. government for work done involving information technology hardware and services contracts. In a statement, the DOJ said it believes that the tech giants engaged in kickbacks and undisclosed conflict-of-interest relationships with other companies with whom they worked on the government contracts. "The defendants have systematically solicited and/or made payments of money and other things of value, known as 'alliance benefits,' to a number of companies with whom they had global 'alliance relationships' or an agreement to work together," the DOJ said, in a statement.

The suit was originally filed in U.S. District Court in Little Rock, Ark., by plaintiffs Norman Rille and Neal Roberts, and under the whistleblower provisions of the U.S. False Claims Act. That act says that a private party can file an action on behalf of the U.S. and receive a portion of any fees recovered in the case. The act also said the U.S. may recover three times the amount of its losses, plus civil penalties, in the case.

H-P released a statement denying the charges and saying it is confident it engaged in appropriate business practices with the government. "We plan to vigorously defend this action and look forward to demonstrating that HP has done nothing wrong," H-P said.

Hewlett-Packard plans further $8 bln share buyback

HP said its board of directors approved an additional $8 billion to buy back company shares.

During its fiscal first quarter ended Jan. 31, the company already bought back some $2.3 billion worth of its shares and had an additional $3.3 billion of authorized funds remaining for future buybacks.

HP said the buyback would help offset dilution created by shares from employee stock option plans and return cash to stockholders, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission...

HP Shareholder Meeting

Shareholders rejected a proposal that would have made it easier for shareholders to field their own candidates during board elections

Another shareholder proposal to separate the roles of the board chairman and the CEO was also defeated.

However, stockholders approved a proposal to require the board to hold a shareholder vote for any future poison pill. Also known as a stockholder rights plan, a poison pill gives a board the right to sell new shares at lower prices as a way to prevent a competing party from acquiring majority interest in the company.

Shareholders also approved a proposal linking senior executive pay to performance. HP had urged shareholders to reject both nonbinding proposals. The company said it is disappointed with the vote but vowed to "review its current policy."

HP-gate : The End ?

What you will find in the comments part :

- Sept 7 : HP said to have spied on reporters
- Sept 8 : California Attorney General says HP tactics violate State laws, but unclear who to prosecute
- Sept 8 : HP's says Dunn will resign if asked by board
- Sept 8 : New York Times, CNET consider options over HP
- Sept 9 : Dunn is done ?
- Sept 11 : Feds and Congress ask for info !
- Sept 12 : HP's Board split over Dunn
- Sept 12 : Patricia Dunn to remain HP Chairman through January 2007 Board meeting and then demoted ! Board appoints Mark Hurd as successor
- Sept 12 : Keyworth says HP approved leaks !!!
- Sept 12 : HP insiders likely to face charges
- Sept 14 : HP spy scandal extends to employees !
- Sept 14 : Reporters 'outraged' over HP tactics
- Sept 15 : HP Execs asked to testify in Washington
- Sept 18 : Shareholder files suit
- Sept 18 : House committee awaits HP documents related to scandal
- Sept 18 : What HP Should Have Done
- Sept 19 : H-P security expert warned on leak probe
- Sept 19 : House committee receives H-P documents
- Sept 20 : House seeks more testimony in H-P case
- Sept 20: H-P considered spying on newsrooms !
- Sept 20: HP Scandal Reaches New Weirdness Level
- Sept 20: Did Mark Hurd approve a "sting" operation on a journalist ?
- Sept 21: H-P's Hurd to hold press conference on scandal sept 22
- Sept 21: HP shares down 5 percent as scandal deepens
- Sept 21: Democrat wants HP CEO to testify on leak scandal
- Sept 21: HP sponsors a privacy award...
- Sept 21: Hurd will testify before House committee sept 28
- Sept 22: Calif AG says no evidence to link HP CEO to crime
- Sept 22 : US Senate nears vote on HP-linked phone data issue
- Sept 22 : Mark Hurd named HP Chairman : Patricia Dunn is leaving Board.
- Sept 23 : HP Chair Resigns Amid Probe Fallout
- Sept 23 : Why Hurd needs to take some questions
- Sept 25 : HP Clears the Air, but Not the Cloud
- Sept 26 : HP Under Increasing Pressure to Overhaul Board
- Sept 26 : HP's most truthworthy man
- Sept 26 : The Men Who Conducted the HP Probe
- Sept 27 : Mark Hurd on the HP scandal
- Sept 28 : House panel releases HP testimony
- Sept 28 : Hypocrisy at Hewlett-Packard(fictional)
- Sept 28 : HP General Counsel Resigns Amid Scandal
- Sept 28 : Lawmakers Grill HP Over Spying Scandal, Making Comparisons to Enron and Watergate
- Sept 29 : HP Whistleblower Tried to Avert Scandal
- Sept 29 : 3 Execs Testify About HP's Spying Probe
- Sept 29 : Hurd: I'm not resigning
- Sept 29 : HP counsel leaves with millions in options, benefits
- Sept 29 : HP Goes to Washington (a tragi-comedy...)
- Sept 29 : Controlling The Damage At HP (everything you wanted to know about Mark Hurd).
- Sept 30 : As H-P scandal reaches peak, Hurd and HPQ are still solid
- Sept 31 : Internal Memo Details Hewlett-Packard Leak Hunt
- Oct 1 : Why Hurd needs to take some questions
- Oct 1 : 4 things HP's Hurd needs to do now
- Oct 2 : HP's costly scandal
- Oct 3 : HP CEO appears secure, but risks remain analysts say.
- Oct 3 : Hurd may have known about phone records in 2005
- Oct 4 : Reporters Reassigned in HP Spy Scandal
- Oct 4 : Indictments in HP case. But not for Mark Hurd.
- Oct 4 : HP's Hurd is contrite, but indictable ?
- Oct 5 : Investigations continue at HP
- Oct 5 : The Silver Lining in HP's Scandal
- Oct 6 : More Charges Possible in HP Spying Probe
- Oct 6 : Is Dunn Really A Felon ?
- Oct 7 : Fiorina could attract interest in HP leak probe
- Oct 8 : HP not alone with "rogue" investigations
- Oct 9 : Dunn calls allegations in HP scandal a 'myth'
- Oct 9 : Dunn said Perkins launched a disinformation campaign against her
- Oct 10 : Fiorina blames divisive HP board
- Oct 11 : Three in HP Scandal Plead Not Guilty
- Oct 14 : Calif. AG presses ahead with HP leak investigation
- Oct 21 : HP tells reporter security firm searched her trash
- Nov 2 : HP CEO responds to Congressional letter : he thought phone records were public...
- Nov 10 : Ex-HP Ethics Chief Pleads Not Guilty
- Nov 15 : Dunn pleads not guilty
- Nov 19 : H-P appoints first new board member since scandal
- Feb 12 : The New Yorker looks into HPGate
- Feb 27 : Ex-HP director laments corporate board trend
- March 1 : Dunn's lawyer blasts Perkins
- March 14 : Judge Drops Charges Against HP's Dunn
- April 24 : HP Ethics Chief Tackles Spying Scandal Aftermath : "the chances are "almost nil" for a repeat of last year's debacle".
- May 24 : Hewlett-Packard probe by SEC is settled

Once upon a time...

HP revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had used "an outside consulting firm" to obtain evidence that showed board member George Keyworth had disclosed information from board meetings to the media. Keyworth admitted he had spoken to the media about confidential board information and was asked to resign.

According the company filing, Keyworth refused to quit, saying that only shareholders could remove him from the board. Venture capitalist and H-P director Tom Perkins then quit in protest over how the Keyworth situation was handled.

The brouhaha grew out an investigation into press leaks that was launched by H-P's nonemployee director, Patricia Dunn, and covered information from meetings that took place both before and after the H-P board fired Fiorina in February 2005 and replaced her with former NCR chief Mark Hurd.

The latest upheaval at the Silicon Valley icon reads like a script from a soap opera...

HP vs. IBM

Hewlett-Packard phasing out US pension plan

HP is phasing out its defined US benefit pension plan, completing the process it started just over a year ago when it closed the plan to new and younger employees.

After Dec. 31, plan participants no longer will earn benefits in the DB plan. Instead, they will be eligible for an enhanced 401(k) plan match. HP's action is the second step the Palo Alto, Calif.-based technology giant has made to wind down the plan. In January 2006, HP closed its pension plan to new and younger employees and offered those individuals a beefed-up 401(k) plan in which the company matches 100% of employees' 401(k) salary deferrals, up to 6% of pay.

Employees whose combined age and service were at least 62 remained in the DB plan and a 401(k) plan in which HP matches 100% of employees' salary deferrals up to the first 3% of pay and 50% of employees' pretax contributions on the next 2% of pay. Starting Jan. 1, 2008, those individuals will move to the enhanced 401(k) plan. HP said the changes are "consistent with actions being taken by many of HP's industry peers and other large corporations." Other companies that have deployed a two-step approach to phase out their defined benefit plans include IBM Corp. of Armonk, N.Y.; NCR Corp. of Dayton, Ohio; and Sears Holding Corp. of Hoffman Estates, Ill.

Mark Hurd said to employees :
" As a result of this decision, we will have a one-time pension curtailment gain of approximately $500 million. We will use the savings from the pension freeze to offer
impacted U.S. employees the option to participate in an Enhanced Early Retirement (EER) program. This is a voluntary program and will be offered to the impacted
employees whose combined age and years of service equals 65 or more.

After the election period ends, we will assess projected program costs based on the number of employees who apply. If the projected costs exceed the accounting gain from freezing the U.S. pension plans, employees will be accepted starting with those that have the highest number of points.

This means that, it's possible, that not everyone who applies for EER may be accepted, which is different than programs we have offered in the past. The changes to the U.S. retirement program are consistent with actions being taken by many of our industry peers and
other large corporations, and will more closely align HP programs with industry-competitive practices. The nature of the treatment of this program has been increasingly
challenging for us to deal with and inhibits our ability to grow. We are therefore making a choice not to continue to differentiate Hewlett-Packard in this area.

About a third of the employees within the United States will be affected and I want to acknowledge the personal impact that this may have. Employees included in this group
will receive further details this week. Additional materials are available on the portal including how to submit a question.

Finally, the benefits received by current U.S. retirees or other active employees will not be affected one bit by today's announcement."

The 100 Top Socially Responsible Companies: Where's Hewlett-Packard ?

San Jose Mercury News Blog

For the first time in the seven-year history of the "Top 100 Corporate Citizens" list, Hewlett-Packard didn't make it.

The list by Corporate Responsibility Officer Magazine includes 15 Silicon Valley companies that are ranked as socially responsible based on data collected by KLD Research & Analytics. If you think about what the pretexting scandal from last year cost HP, this is part of the fallout. After all, spying on your own employees and journalists can't be called "socially responsible" in anybody's book.

Here's what the list makers said about HP:"Missing from the list and from the top 10 for the first time ever is Hewlett-Packard. Like many companies on the list, the Palo Alto, Calif., computer company has an impressive record in giving to the community, creating a diverse, fair workplace and actively protecting the environment. But last year, HP was charged with using illegal methods known as "pretexting," or pretending to be someone else, to investigate leaks of information from the board of directors. Patricia Dunn resigned as Chairman of the Board last September in the wake of the scandal, and HP paid $14.5 million to settle civil charges with the California Attorney General. The company is still under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission."

HP has a long way to go climb out of the hole it dug : fairness toward employees is one of the criteria....

HP pays $8.6-m bonus to its CEO in a year of scandals

Mercury News

HP Chief Executive Mark Hurd took home more than $19 million during 2006, including one of the largest cash bonuses in Silicon Valley history, the company disclosed Tuesday.

In a year that saw a high-profile boardroom spying scandal and a doubling of the company's profits, Hurd was paid $1.4 million in base salary and an $8.6 million bonus as part of a total compensation package of $19.2 million, not including a grant of 500,000 stock options.

In 2005, Hurd received $24.4 million, including signing and relocation bonuses, along with 1.15 million stock options. Most top HP executives, including Hurd, received fewer restricted stock and option grants and only a slight bump in 2006 salary, but collected bonuses more than double those of previous years. Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president of HP's Imaging and Printing Group, received a $2.4 million bonus and $1.9 million in stock, vs. a $1 million bonus and $4.1 million in stock in 2005.

``When you see somebody like HP, clearly a thought leader in this area, saying, `We're going to keep salaries at a modest increase, but we're going to allow the team to earn more on the bonus side,' the reasoning behind it is that they're going to be a performance-based culture,'' said compensation expert Steve Patchel of Watson Wyatt.

The rise in cash compensation and drop in stock grants might mean that HP is placing a greater value on short-term performance at the expense of long-term returns, Patchel said. "We are becoming more performance-based with regard to our compensation,'' said HP spokesman Ryan Donovan. "The goal is to tie as much of our top executives' compensation as possible to their performance at the company.'' Donovan declined to comment on the balance of cash bonuses vs. stock grants.

Hurd's $8.6 million cash performance bonus puts him in lofty company. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison received a $6.4 million bonus in 2006 along with his $1 million salary, and a $6.5 million bonus in 2005 on top of a $900,000 salary. Brian Halla, chief executive of National Semiconductor, received a $5.3 million bonus in 2006 on top of his $890,000 salary.

HP's executive pay packages include reimbursement for an annual physical exam, $18,000 in financial counseling and personal use of the company's corporate jets, though they do have to pay tax on aircraft use. HP covers the first 25 hours of Hurd's personal use of HP aircraft, and provides him a mortgage-interest subsidy, on top of a $2.75 million relocation benefit in 2005.
Hurd is credited with turning HP around after taking over in March 2005 from Carly Fiorina, who had been ousted by the board in February. The company's 2006 income was $6.2 billion, compared with $2.4 billion in 2005.

HP's stock price has risen 94 percent since Hurd joined, climbing 38 percent in fiscal 2006 to $38.74. It closed Tuesday at $42.31. The company's market capitalization grew 33 percent to $105.8 billion during 2006. It now stands at $115 billion, up more than 80 percent since Hurd took over.

Around Labor Day, news of HP's spying scandal broke, forcing Hurd and then-board chairwoman Patricia Dunn to combat allegations that HP had hired investigators who used deception to obtain phone records of board members, journalists, employees and others as part of an internal company probe ordered by Dunn into leaks of confidential board meeting.
Dunn, who resigned in late September in the scandal's wake, was paid $155,338 in stock and $18,000 in cash for her board service. The company did not disclose her severance package (if one exists), nor did it disclose possible severance packages for others who resigned in connection with the spying scandal, such as high-profile general counsel Ann Baskins or senior counsel Kevin Hunsaker.

Worth reading : HP IG Metall Standpunkt !

HP-IG Metall December 2006 Newletter

You will find the english "best of" in the comments :
- Downsizing at HP
- Offshoring
- Global delivery
- Nearshoring
- Everyday office life
- Sales commissions
...

HP Paid for Dell Plans, Ex-Employee Says

Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. paid to obtain information from a former head of a Dell Inc. unit about Dell's plans to enter the printer market, a former Hewlett-Packard executive said in court papers.

SEC Delays Decision On Board Nominations

WASHINGTON (Los Angeles Times)

The Securities and Exchange Commission Monday said it would not intervene in a dispute over board election rules at Hewlett-Packard Co. and signaled that a clear policy governing director nomination contests probably would not be implemented until the 2008 season of corporate meetings.

"In the short term, the SEC decision to steer clear of the Hewlett-Packard conflict means the Palo Alto-based technology firm might face a greater risk of being sued if it excludes from its annual meeting in March the election resolution submitted by a group of large public pension funds. The measure would change the company's election rules so that investors who own 3% or more of the stock for at least two years would be able to place nominees on the company's official election materials.

The proposal follows disclosures last year that HP hired private investigators to spy on reporters and its own directors to find the source of a leak to the media. HP had asked the SEC to let it keep the election measure off its 2007 corporate ballot, but on Monday the SEC said its staff would keep quiet on the matter.Having been denied explicit permission to exclude the measure, HP officials run the risk of drawing a legal challenge if they do so." We're prepared to litigate," said Richard Ferlauto, director of pension and benefit policy for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, one of the groups pushing the proposal. The SEC decision, he maintained, amounted to a "green light" for shareholder election proposals.

HP had no comment Monday on the SEC decision, said Ryan J. Donovan, a company spokesman. The ball is in HP's court now," Borrus said. "The company will have to think long and hard about its next step. Any move to try to boot out the shareowner access proposal would likely be litigated in court. " Shareholder activists, including many pension funds, have long sought greater influence in the director nomination process, which is largely controlled by management and the board. Big-business lobbies have opposed the effort to loosen up elections, saying that such a step could empower special interests whose agenda is more narrow than that of ordinary shareholders.

The subject of shareholder voting rights is one of the most contentious issues in the area of corporate governance. The SEC has been unable to resolve the matter. In the coming months, he said, the SEC would consider the legal issues surrounding the matter, aiming for "one clear rule to protect investors' interests in all jurisdictions during the next proxy season."

HP CEO denies 'bullet dodging' with stock sale

A pair of Democratic congressman from Michigan are asking Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd to explain why he cashed in more than a $1 million worth of stock options just before a scandal concerning boardroom leaks became public.

In their letter, which was written on Dec. 12 and released this week, U.S. Reps. John Dingell and Bart Stupak, who sit on a panel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee that is investigating the Palo Alto, Calif. company, wrote to Hurd to explain the $1.37 million transaction. "In that regard, it appears from the enclosed chart on HP executive trading, that you voluntarily cashed in $1.37 million worth of options on August 25, 2006, the very same day that you were questioned by Wilson Sonsini attorneys who were 'investigating the investigation,'" the two congressman wrote in the letter.

The letter indicates that Hurd cashed in his stock options just before a Sept. 6 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange first detailed that the company had started a far-ranging probe to find the source of leaks from the company's boardroom to various media organizations. On Dec. 14, an HP spokesperson told eWEEK: "This is not a new matter and we look forward to responding to the committee's inquiry."

In their letter, Dingell and Stupak question the timing of the stock sale. The two congressmen write that there has been a number of "backdating" scandals at large companies, which "have raised questions about whether executives are cashing in ('bullet dodging') while in possession of potentially damaging material facts that shareholders do not know." The letter asks for a response from Hurd and HP by Dec. 21.

Hurd said in his anwer that the sale was prearranged and part of an ongoing investment strategy. He wrote that the sale of 100,000 shares on August 25 represented only 5 percent of his HP holdings and noted that Wall Street had yet to punish the company's stock over the spying scandal.

"HP's stock has risen by more than $5 per share since the date of the trade," Hurd wrote in the letter. "My August trade was not a case of bullet-dodging."

Here is Mark Hurd answering letter !

The Cuts Aren't Over at HP

CEO Mark Hurd says the company's operational and information technology costs are still too high

Mark Hurd is not done cutting at Hewlett-Packard. Not by a long shot.
The HP chief executive officer has already seen the company through a huge restructuring that reduced headcount by more than 15,000 and overhauled its retirement plan. And at a meeting with analysts in New York on Dec. 12, Hurd made it clear that there is still more work to be done.

"We are a company transforming, not a company transformed," Hurd said more than once during his remarks. And it's clear there are many targets he has in mind. Real estate is one—HP has "too much" of it, according to Hurd. Operational and information technology costs are too high, he said. "We still have a lot of heavy lifting to do."

Take IT costs. Analyst Lou Miscioscia of Cowen & Co. in New York estimates that HP spends 4% of sales on IT infrastructure. "That's high compared to other companies who spend about 2% to 3%. If they cut it down to those levels, that could mean $900 million in savings," he says.
But as any first-year MBA student knows, cutting costs doesn't translate into increasing revenue. Hurd says that calls for flooding the zone with a batch of new sales personnel. Hurd wouldn't say exactly how many the company has hired or will recruit, saying only that so far "hundreds" have been brought in, and that their results are being tracked closely. "We track sales by person, not only to see how much they're selling but what else they have in their funnel," Hurd said.

So between cutting costs and boosting sales personnel, is that enough for HP ? Not to American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu, who says he's keeping his neutral rating on the stock for now. "Everything they said is pretty much in line with expectations," Wu says. "We expected more cost-cutting and more attention to sales. But at some point HP needs to reinvest and build up some new revenue streams. Until then it's going to be mostly a cost-cutting story."

Clearly, there is progress being made. The operating margin range expected for 2008 is way ahead of the 6% range HP turned in for 2005. And that leaves the picture looking anything but dour at HP for the next eight quarters or so. "Hurd is a master of setting attractive expectations and then overdelivering on them," says Cowen's Miscioscia. "Even just hitting those expectations, the picture is pretty attractive."

HP to pay to settle pretexting lawsuit but shareholder suit alleges insider trading

HP agreed yesterday to pay $14.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by state Attorney General Bill Lockyer accusing the company of unfair business practices in its crusade to unmask the source of boardroom leaks to the news media.

The vast majority of the settlement -- $13.5 million -- will fund state and local investigations into privacy rights and intellectual property violations, according to the lawsuit and settlement filed simultaneously in Santa Clara County Superior Court.

"Fortunately, Hewlett-Packard is not Enron," Lockyer said. "I commend the firm for cooperating instead of stonewalling, for taking instead of shirking responsibility, and for working with my office to expeditiously craft a creative resolution."
The state likely would have recovered far less if the case were taken to court, based on the limited penalties it could claim for each phone number that was illegally accessed during the leak probe, Lockyer said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"It's a good example of the HP that we all grew up with, the old HP of Hewlett and Packard, the ethics and principles of corporate responsibility and good management practices," he said. "We see those re-emerging in the way they dealt with this matter."

The remainder of the settlement amount consists of $650,000 in civil penalties and $350,000 to cover the state's investigation and other costs. HP has also agreed to various governance reforms to be in place for five years, which Lockyer said will help protect privacy rights during any future HP investigations. Some of those reforms include the appointment of an independent director to monitor HP's compliance with privacy guidelines, and additional training for investigative staff.

HP CEO Mark Hurd said in a statement that the company is "committed to ensuring that HP regains its standing as a global leader in corporate ethics and responsibility." The agreement did not include a finding of liability against HP. Prosecutors said the company hired outside detectives who tricked phone companies into disclosing the private phone records of directors, journalists and others so the company could track the source of news leaks.

Revelations of the probe, disclosed in a regulatory filing, led to an exodus from the board, criminal charges, a congressional investigation, and ongoing federal probes by the FBI, the Securities and Exchange Commission, federal prosecutors and other agencies. Dunn, who was ousted over the incident, former ethics chief Kevin Hunsaker and three outside investigators, Ronald DeLia, Matthew DePante and Bryan Wagner, have pleaded not guilty in Santa Clara County Superior Court to charges of identity theft and fraud for their roles.
The company's stock price has been relatively unaffected by the scandal, buoyed by strong earnings growth under CEO Mark Hurd and the belief that the turmoil had little affect on operations.

HP shares have actually gained around 9 percent since the probe was disclosed in a regulatory filing, but fell 28 cents to $39.86 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. News of the settlement was reported late Wednesday by CNet Networks Inc.'s News.com.
Details of the agreement were announced after the market closed, and HP shares gained a penny.

Analysts said the penalty was relatively minor and would go a long way toward assuaging fears among skittish investors. "It looks like they got off pretty easy, and that this is actually going to be a good thing for HP," said Roger Kay, who follows the company as president of market research firm Endpoint Technologies Associates. "It looks like they're in control of their destiny and have put at least some of this behind them."

But another lawsuit alleges that Chief Executive Mark Hurd and other directors and senior executives sold about $41.3 million of HP stock in the two-and-a-half weeks preceding HP's disclosure that investigators working on its behalf used false pretenses to obtain directors' and journalists' private phone records.

This lawsuit alleges the board approved stock buybacks totaling $10 billion in the months leading up to the scandal "to keep the company's stock price propped up while insiders were selling." The board knew its leak investigation was likely to be made public when it approved a $6-billion repurchase on Aug. 21, the suit alleges.

"Pattie Dunn is not accused of insider trading," Brosnahan said in a statement. Dunn "has never sold any of her Hewlett-Packard stock". The lawsuit alleges that sales by HP insiders surged in the third quarter, when the leak investigation was disclosed, from previous quarters. Hurd, who replaced Dunn as chairman, sold 125,000 HP shares for about $4.38 million from April 3 through Aug. 25, according to the lawsuit filed on behalf of investors, including a union pension fund.

The investors, represented by law firm Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP, claim the defendants sold shares because they knew "the market's perception of HP would be significantly damaged when (not if) the market became aware of the full extent of distrust and acrimony among board members, the outlandish smear campaign tactics the acrimony had spurned and the illegality of the investigatory tactics being used."

CPB is over. Here is the IPB.

Mark Hurd is now considering more than two CPBs moving forward. Not only Business Unit CPBs and sub-Business Unit CPBs but workgroup CPBs !

So the name COMPANY Perfomance Bonus doesn't make sense anymore. We kindly suggest the use of IPB (Individual Performance Bonus) as a better acronym. Just one more individual reward at HP, we were short of...

HP one company ? Forget about it !
Teamwork at HP ? ...

"Tough Cultural Message" Mark Hurd said : you bet !

2 CPB, 2 Issues...

It was great to get a FY06 bonus while HP is multiplying profit by 4, but...

1/ HPS employees are furious to get 4.83% when all the others enjoy 9.47%

2/ Non HPS employees should have been happy to get more than one month of salary, but they don't fully enjoy it because of point 1...

Nobody noticed that HPS and non HPS employees are all working together...

"Importance of building trust" matters to Wall Street and customers. To employees also !

The SEC development is a dark cloud over HP's sunny financial news

The SEC development was a dark cloud over HP's sunny financial news.

HP said in a regulatory filing that the SEC had upgraded its informal inquiry into the spying scandal into a formal investigation.

The Federal Communications Commission has also requested documents related to HP's effort to unmask the source of boardroom leaks to the media, and HP faces five shareholder lawsuits related to the investigation, according to the filing.

HP had previously disclosed that it was the subject of inquiries by the SEC, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California, a congressional panel and California's attorney.

Five years on: HP Compaq merger declared a success

IDC believes the deal has achieved its main objectives :

"This deal enabled the merged company to grow revenue and profits in an increasingly competitive marketplace." "The merger accomplished what HP and Compaq set out to do in the first place, providing the critical mass and reach needed to ensure a long-term role in an industry undergoing a fundamental transition," said Jean S. Bozman, research vice president in IDC's Worldwide Server group and co-author of the report.

But IDC warned that organisational changes have remained a "critical issue" as HP had reduced the size of its workforce, seen the departure of two chief executives, and reorganised its management structure. However, it was not just technological change that facilitated the merger. IDC maintained that the commitment to cultural change was equally important, where it was hoped that the infusion of Compaq's fast-paced corporate culture would help increase HP's "business velocity".

OpenView gave HP a foundation from which to build in the software business, putting the company in a stronger position to compete with the largest system and services providers worldwide, the analyst firm noted. According to IDC, an important linchpin to the merger's success was the commitment to infrastructure software, which helped move the combined company away from commodity hardware and into the management layer.

"By completing the deal when it did, HP managed to position itself for the next wave of enterprise computing by leaping ahead of the trends that were working against the two companies as independent entities." "The merger came at a time when both companies were becoming irrelevant in a number of key product categories. "What makes the merger interesting from a technology perspective is the extent to which HP has improved its position in a number of core markets that were rapidly commoditising," said Crawford Del Prete, senior vice president of communications, hardware, services and software research at IDC.

IDC has now claimed that the firms have successfully completed a "massive integration effort" and moved the combined company forward to new revenue and profit levels. The analyst firm said at the time of the merger, which was first mooted in September 2001, that the two companies would be "better off together".

Five years after the mega-merger that saw Compaq climb into bed with HP, IDC has declared the deal a success.

Executive Carnage at HP ?

Five general managers lost in the last two weeks !

- Steve Smith, the head of HP's revenue-flat $15.5 billion services business, has unexpectedly resigned, citing personal reasons.

- The head of HP's billion-dollar OpenView business, Todd DeLaughter, has quit to become CEO of Opalis, the Canadian software company.

- HP's channel chief John Thompson has left and Rick Becker, the head of its blade operation, which has been waging hand-to-hand combat with IBM, has been poached by Dell, presumably at the behest of his old boss Brad Anderson, who went to Dell last year as senior VP of its product group. Becker was also CTO of HP's x86 servers. Anderson used to run HP's industry standard servers Smith, DeLaughter and Becker all worked for Ann Livermore, the head of HP's $33 billion technology solutions group, who will temporarily replace Smith until the company comes up with a new body.

- HP had also lost the GM of its Business Critical Systems unit Rich Marcello. He has quit to work for non profit organisations.

HP UK & I Dress code...

Message just sent to Managers of UK & Ireland Employees... :

As part of our site consolidation programme we have reviewed our office related policies such as dress code. As a manager within HP you are responsible for ensuring your team complies with the dress code outlined below and intervening where individuals are not complying to the appropriate standards. The dress code will be communicated to all employees following this communication.

In summary, the UK&I region has a dress appropriately code, meaning we trust our employees to dress appropriately for the business situation they are managing.
HP has a high quality brand image and we want to reflect this in all aspects of our work, including dress. We will no longer have "dress down Friday" as this is unnecessary with our updated dress appropriately code.

We simply ask you to ensure trousers/jeans, shirts/t-shirts and footwear are smart and presentable. If a reminder is needed about what is considered inappropriate this includes :
- Halter, vest, spaghetti strap or strapless tops
- Shorts, ripped jeans or leggings
- Excessively short skirts
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- Plastic flip flops or other beach footwear
- T-shirts with offensive logos
- Clothing that is ripped, torn or revealing

For those employees based on customer facing sites such as Wood Street and Bracknell please remember that our appearance contributes to the customers and visitors impression of HP. It is particularly key on customer facing sites that every employee fully adheres to the dress code regardless of role to create a professional image to our customers.

By dressing appropriately we can maintain a flexible, creative environment at HP and present a professional image to our customers.

Thanks for your support

HP wins EU approval to buy Mercury

BRUSSELS, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co. won permission from the European Commission on Friday to buy Mercury Interactive Corp. for about $4.5 billion in stock, or $52 per share.

"The Commission concluded that the proposed transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area," the European Union's executive arm said in a statement. The deal is aimed at expanding the computer maker's business software operations. The purchase of the former star Israeli technology company also puts HP in closer competition with other systems management software providers, including IBM's Tivoli unit, CA Inc.'s UniCenter and BMC Software.

It is the biggest acquisition by HP since its controversial $19 billion purchase of Compaq in May 2002. Since last year, a number of top Mercury executives have left the company amid a regulatory probe into its stock option granting practices. The financial scandal drove Mercury, once a top performing stock, to delist from the Nasdaq market.

HP is paying a premium of about a third for Mercury shares in the $4.5 billion deal, which is net of Mercury's existing cash and debt, and ranks as one of the largest prices ever paid to acquire a company with Israeli roots. The deal will nearly double HP's software business to more than $2 billion in annual revenue and deliver growth rates of 10 percent to 15 percent by 2008, the company said when the deal was announced.

Tough choices...

Fiorina book says HP board made her job difficult...

Carly for Governator ?

What Carly Doesn't Say

And much more in comments !

Bring back the HP Way, Mr. Hurd !

An open letter to Mark Hurd, click here !

HP to double work force in Costa Rica

Hewlett-Packard Co. said Friday it opened its second call center and outsourcing facility in San Jose, Costa Rica, and thatit plans to nearly double its work force in the country to more than 6,000 employees by 2008.

H-P said the new facility will handle call-center operation and business process, payroll, financial and accounting services.

The company said its current Costa Rican operations handle more than 70,000 calls a day. The Center there is one of eight used by HP around the world.

Published August 18, 2006 by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal

HP's Israeli Investment

Forbes :

Hewlett-Packard's decision to purchase Mercury Interactive, the Israeli-American business-software developer, for $4.5 billion will turn Mercury's R&D center in Israel into HP's largest software development center worldwide. It's the company's largest acquisition since it bought Compaq Computer for $18.9 billion in 2002.

But it seems that the 700 new HP employees in Israel may have a reason for concern, at least if they were to consult their colleagues in HP Israel, the local division of global HP. Forbes Israel reports that in March, HP fired 15 senior executives in its Israeli division, including Chief Executive Gil Rosenfeld after it suspected they ran a gray market--exporting servers that should have been sold only in Israel to other countries for a higher profit. After investigations, hearings and legal fights, HP backed off and cleared Rosenfeld's name. However, Rosenfeld decided not to return to the company, leaving the division in turmoil.

Now, HP Israel's employees are in a panic. They refuse to talk, afraid of eavesdropping and denunciation, while checking other employment opportunities. In April, HP's server sales in Israel dropped 40%, and clients claim that sales might continue to drop in the next quarters. Still, HP says that the quarterly results of the Israeli division match its expectations.
According to information that was leaked to reporters, HP Israel was accused of illegitimately exporting 30,000 servers--half of the total amount imported to Israel each year--for $50 million. By running this kind of gray market, HP Israel could benefit, for example, from the higher price of the servers among foreign trading partners, and from the differences in exchange rates. However, while HP Israel gains, the local HP distributor in the destination country loses, and so does the parent company, whose global sales plans are foiled.

Rosenfeld was fired during lunch. His pink slip was sent to his iPAQ while he was dining with a CEO of a major Israeli company. "Dear Gil," the message on his iPAQ read. "As you know, during the last weeks we conducted an investigation…and found evidence that tie you to severe violation of company procedures....Due to the findings, HP considers to terminate your employment with the company." Rosenfeld denies any gray market activity in the Israeli division. "HP was misled--it was victimized," he says. "I'm not looking for revenge, and I don't want to talk against HP. It was my home for 18 years. I loved it, and I still love it."

The exact details of the investigation were never publicly disclosed, but toward the end of 2005, and perhaps earlier, HP received complaints about gray-market activity in its Israeli division. The complaints may have been lodged by executives of other HP divisions in Europe, and possibly, as Rosenfeld implies, they were lodged by local workers who were seeking ways to hurt him after he laid them off. "People were looking for revenge," he says.

In mid-February, a team of American and British investigators landed in Israel. For five weeks, they interrogated employees and searched for evidence in files and computers. Some employees claim that the investigators even monitored their calls. The probe eventually found its way into the Israeli media. Newspapers were given details on what the team of investigators was seeking. "The team will investigate senior officials in the local division due to suspicions about severe violations of the company's procedures," wrote Maariv, Israel's second-largest newspaper. "If the suspicions will be realized, some senior officials in HP Israel might lose their jobs."
And they did. But Rosenfeld decided not to give up without a fight. "Getting the pink slip was the shock of my life," he says. "I decided to fight the company I love to clear my name. I was angry, and my family helped me a lot. My legal counsel was Tamar Golan, who is my mother-in-law, and together with my wife and father, we created a think tank. We worked day and night. It was an amazing team effort."

HP refused to present Rosenfeld with the investigation's findings, and the case arrived in Israel's labor court. The court ruled that HP should present the report to Rosenfeld and the other executives whose jobs were terminated. Those who've read the report under a pledge not to disclose its contents are able to testify about what it doesn't contain--any real evidence against the executives.

After a mediation process, Rosenfeld was cleared of any suspicion, though the situation of the other executives dismissed at the same time remains unclear. HP released a statement asserting that it had never cast any doubt on Rosenfeld's integrity, nor his achievements, and regretted the misleading media coverage that was made without its knowledge or consent.
The crisis between Rosenfeld and HP lasted exactly one month, from March 23 to April 23. Then, Rosenfeld decided to leave the company. "It was the right thing to do," he says.
Rosenfeld says HP should now take care of its employees. "The workers in Israel are an amazing group of people of superb quality. The only thing that the company needs to do now is to pet the workers, the clients and the market. The company needs a leader who is a 'man of heart,' because the damage is emotional, not rational."

HP's comment: "The company never discloses information about investigations related to its business regulations."

Mercury Interactive, its profits in retrograde, will be bought by H-P

San Francisco Business Times :
HP said today it will spend about $4.5 billion to buy Mercury Interactive Corp., a business software maker that recently changed its reported 2003 profit to a loss.
H-P will pay $52 a share in cash for Mountain View-based Mercury

Palo Alto-based H-P, which has 150,000 employees, said the deal will increase annual sales at its software unit to $2 billion. After a tender offer for all outstanding Mercury shares, Mercury will merge with an H-P unit. The deal should close in the fourth quarter of 2006.

H-P did not address Mercury's status with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC said earlier this month it might file civil charges against company directors.

In early July, Mercury restated financials for fiscal years 2002, 2003 and 2004, reporting about $566.7 million less in income than previously posted. The restatement reversed Mercury's reported 2003 profit of $41.5 million into a loss of $62.6 million. For 2002, the company cut its profit of $65 million to $37 million; for 2004 from $84.6 million to $53.7 million.
Mercury said its legal and accounting bill for the cleanup is likely to be around $70 million.

Mercury at a Glance :
CEO and President = Tony Zingale
Year Founded = 1989
Revenue 2004 = $685.5 Million
Number of Employees = 2,659
Worldwide Offices = 26
http://www.mercury.com/us/company/corporate-info/contact-us/ww-contacts/

HP to combine functions in ongoing restructuring

June 20 (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co. said on Tuesday it will further streamline its business by combining some operations. Supply Chain, Procurement, Logistics, Order-Fulfillment, Related Functions to be Fully Integrated Into Businesses !

France : final agreement reached in the multi-union negotiations

HP in France will be quite peaceful in the next 18 months as a final agreement has been reached in front of the 3 working councils with most of the 5 unions, puting an end to the largest social conflict ever for this company.

Worforce Reduction will start third week of July, and about 900 employees (17% of staff) are expected to leave on a voluntary basis until end of 2007. It could be more with new talks coming July 10th after knowing how many employees want to leave exactly.

HP CEO Hurd cashes in options

Mercury News

Mark Hurd took advantage of his one-year anniversary as chief executive of Hewlett-Packard earlier this month to cash in on the run-up in HP's share price when the first third of a 400,000-share restricted stock grant, given when he was hired, officially became his. The 400,000 shares were worth $8.68 million on the day they were granted at the beginning of April 2005, when HP shares closed at $21.71. A year later their value had grown by more than half to nearly $13.2 million. A third of them became Hurd's on April 1, and he promptly sold 58,081, or nearly 44 percent of the shares back to Hewlett-Packard for $1.9 million to cover taxes. Two days later he sold 25,000, or a third of the remaining shares, on the open market for $33.57 each, or $839,168.Hurd set up an automatic trading plan March 7 under the Securities and Exchange Commission's 10b5-1 rule, which allows executives to sell a set number of shares over a predetermined amount of time. (Executives have increasingly adopted such plans to avoid questions about the timing of their stock trades.)

Hurd, who got a $2 million signing bonus when he was hired and $2.75 million to help him relocate from Ohio, was also granted an option to buy shares at $21.73, including 700,000 shares that vest annually over four years, and 450,000 shares that vest in thirds over three years. (The grant for 450,000 shares was given to make up for compensation he forfeited from his previous employer, NCR.) When the 1.15 million options were granted in 2005, HP estimated their value at $6.2 million. The 28 percent of the options that are now Hurd's to exercise were worth $3.5 million at last week's closing price of $32.62. That's more than half of the estimated value of all the options when they were granted.

Also cashing in recently was HP's chief financial officer, Robert Wayman, who made nearly $2 million the first week of March when he exercised his right to buy 175,000 shares at $21.75 each and then sold them at prices ranging from $32.84 to $33.10.Wayman, who has been the company's chief financial officer since 1984, served as its interim chief executive following Carly Fiorina's firing in February 2005 until Hurd's arrival in April of that year, and received an extra $3 million cash payment for his efforts.

H-P hires Disney HR boss

Hewlett-Packard Co. said Friday it hired John Renfro, head of human resources at the Walt Disney Co., to run the HR department at its imaging and printing division.

Renfro will serve as vice president and report to Marcela Perez de Alonso, executive vice president of human resources for HP, and to Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president of IPG.

Renfro will be responsible for improving organizational effectiveness, developing high-performance teams and delivering world-class HR programs for IPG, which reported revenue of $25 billion in FY2005.

Renfro, 46, joins HP after four years at Disney, where he served as senior vice president and chief human resources officer reporting to Robert Iger, president and chief executive officer. Previously, Renfro ran the human resources function at Gateway and Zenith and held senior HR positions at Ameritech and A.C. Nielsen, a division of Dun & Bradstreet.

Renfro will be based in San Diego and will join HP effective May 17.

HP plans more acquisitions

SAN JOSE, Calif. (MarketWatch)
HP will use six main strategies to grow, including pursuing organic opportunities and acquisitions, Hurd said in a speech delivered at the Bay Area Council's annual Outlook Conference in San Jose.

H-P has about $14 billion in cash and no debt, Hurd said, giving the computer and printing company the ability to leverage its finances to make acquisitions. "You won't see any transformational acquisitions," Hurd said. "But you will see us be more acquisitive."
H-P's $19 billion takeover of PC rival Compaq in 2002 helped contribute to the departure of Hurd's predecessor, Carly Fiorina.

Hurd said H-P isn't looking to sell its PC business, which generates roughly $30 billion a year in revenue. The PC business helps H-P control costs when it buys products for other parts of the company, such as its industry-standard server division, according to Hurd.
"We're not working on getting rid of the PC business," he said. "We're working on making it better."

HP's Hurd: year 1, kick butt; year 2...

HP investors are happy about CEO Mark Hurd's first anniversary, but wondering if he can keep the gains coming.

CNNMoney.com : Shareholders of HP are celebrating a happy anniversary -- the company's stock has risen 50 percent since Mark Hurd stepped in as CEO on April 1, 2005. But his hardest job -- boosting revenue at the tech behemoth -- is still to come.
Since taking over from ousted CEO Carly Fiorina, Hurd has trimmed fat and boosted profitability at the No. 2 computer maker, which had fallen on hard times after the Internet bust and its disastrous Compaq merger. Hurd took over as CEO of HP one year ago this April.

Shareholders say that in sharp contrast to the flashy Fiorina, Hurd is a no-nonsense manager who has brought focus and discipline to HP. Investors say he's a talented cost-cutter who has excelled in accomplishing his first task of increasing profitability.

"Carly was trying to drive revenue growth, and she was bleeding the printer business by using the higher profits in that business to fund unprofitable growth everywhere else," said Tony Ursillo, stock analyst for the Loomis Sayles Research Fund. "(Hurd) has dialed back the sales growth objectives and focused those units on operating more efficiently." But whether he can drive revenue growth -- next on his to-do list -- remains to be seen.

"Is he a visionary? I think the jury's still out on that," said Ursillo, whose firm bought shares of HP when Hurd's appointment was announced and increased its position substantially not long after that. But he added that Hurd has done a good job of recruiting and surrounding himself with talented executives, including those from Dell, Palm and a veteran of Siebel and IBM.

After the "rock star" CEO Fiorina was ousted by the board, Hurd, former CEO of NCR, which makes bank cash machines and check out terminals, wasted no time in slashing costs. He cut the company's work force by some 15,000, discontinued its pension plan in favor of a 401(k) and boosted profitability in flagging businesses like servers and software. The company beat earnings and revenue estimates for three straight quarters and also shifted its profit mix. It had been that 75 percent of the company's profits came from the printing business -- mostly "consumables," such as laser and toner cartridges for printers. Now printing is about half of profits, said Ursillo, not because that business is declining, but because the servers and software businesses are on the rise.

Mike Demos, equity analyst at Fifth Third Asset Management, said those areas had nowhere to go but up, and he thinks investors should be concerned about profit margins in the imaging and printing group. Demos works in the firm's core holdings group, which does not own shares of HP, but he said the firm owns shares elsewhere. "The printing business is still by far the most important franchise there," said Demos, noting that while it had a good quarter last quarter, margins have been falling, an area of concern mentioned by other analysts who follow the company. He adds that the business faces competitive pressure from retailers who offer in-store refills of toner cartridges.

Investors may wonder if the party's over, now that the obvious cost-cutting steps have been taken and shares have already enjoyed a big run. Ursillo thinks the restructuring will continue to reap benefits, though sales growth is unlikely to ignite anytime soon. Analysts on average expect 5 percent revenue growth in fiscal 2007, beginning in October of this year. Ursillo, more optimistic, thinks as much as 8 percent is possible. But that won't be easy. The company's biggest business is under pressure not only from domestic competitors like Dell and Lexmark but also foreign competitors and third-party ink suppliers.

"That's a huge challenge," said Kim Caughey, vice president and senior analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group. Caughey's portfolios do not hold shares of HP, though she monitors the stock closely. "The margins are falling in printer and printing supply business." Ursillo said he finds HP's forays into consumer products, such as installing photo printing kiosks in drugstores and selling TVs at Best Buy, as the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, to be encouraging. "That is the perfect example of how HP can take advantage of both its market position and brand to address some large markets it doesn't play in too well," he said. But Caughey pointed out that making money in consumer products is tough, given how fickle consumers can be about products and brands.

Demos said growing revenues will be a much more difficult challenge for Hurd than what he faced his first year on the job, adding that the same "law of large numbers" that IBM faces is a problem for HP as well -- that is, when you already have upwards of $90 billion in annual revenue, growth in the double-digits is tough to come by. But Ursillo thinks the stock can cruise up to $40 -- from a recent $33 -- on restructuring alone. He points out that the stock is trading at about 17 times expected fiscal 2006 earnings.

"The stock's ability to keep outperforming hinges on continuing to gain market share where it's already present and on bringing to market some new and innovative products, particularly on the consumer side," he said. "If we see evidence of that growing, I think the stock continues to outperform through next year."

New Managing Director in France

Patrick Starck, Managing Director of HP France and Vice President and General Manager Technology Solutions Group, has made the decision to leave HP and pursue another career opportunity.

Johan Deschuyffeleer will serve as the Managing Director of HP France and Vice President and General Manager of the Technology Solutions Group, on an interim basis, effective immediately. Since 2004, Johan has been Vice President of Go-To-Market Strategy and Sales Productivity, leading the company-wide effort to improve value sales effectiveness and enable value and volume sales success in every market, region and country where HP does business. Prior to that, Johan served as Vice President and Country General Manager for HP Belgium, where he played a leading role in building and maintaining customer loyalty and trust throughout the HP/Compaq merger. While serving earlier as Managing Director for the Belgium-Luxembourg region, Johan succeeded in transforming the company into one of the main suppliers of IT infrastructure solutions in these two countries.

Johan holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from IHRB University in Brussels. He also earned a Master's Degree in Management from IMD International in Lausanne followed by further qualification from the Vlerick School.

What about Carly ?

One year after HP ouster, Carly Fiorina has a new life CIRCLING THE GLOBE FOR $50,000-PLUS SPEECHES

San Jose Mercury News / Feb. 9, 2006
By Nicole C. Wong

Toppled from her perch as one of Silicon Valley's most powerful women one year ago, Carly Fiorina has put together a new life that retains some of the trappings, if not the influence, of an elite corporate insider. Since Hewlett-Packard's board showed her the door, the ousted chief executive has been crisscrossing the globe -- and commanding big bucks -- speaking about how to be a good leader. In lots of little ways, Fiorina's past year has been about trading places. Her glory may be fading on the West Coast, but rising on the East Coast. HP removed her portrait from the lobby of its Palo Alto headquarters. But the University of Maryland -- where Fiorina earned her MBA -- hung one up in its Alumni Hall of Fame.While she and her husband still own a Tudor-style mansion on a 2.63-acre lot in Los Altos Hills, they bought a Georgetown condo in Washington, DC, for $3.6 million in May. And instead of leading Silicon Valley's legendary hardware company from the chief executive's seat, Fiorina is serving on the board of directors of two Washington-area companies: Cybertrust, a privately held information security firm, and Steve Case's Revolution Health, a venture that funds companies offering more choice in customer health care services.Slowly, she's been admitting some mistakes she made while at the helm of HP. But not many. And she remains resolute in her public speeches that the biggest and most bitterly fought decision of her HP tenure -- to merge the company with Compaq Computer -- has proved a success.

``I would do the merger all over again,'' Fiorina told more than 600 people who packed a Los Angeles ballroom to hear her October keynote address at the Internet Telephony Conference and Expo. ``I think the merger has been a resounding success.''As Fiorina, 51, has traveled the international corporate speaker circuit since she left HP, she's kept a low profile and shunned media attention. Her spokeswoman kept a reporter away this week, saying Fiorina is busy writing a candid book about her career, due out in September, and is about to travel abroad for two weeks.Speculation was once rife that she would take a high-profile government or public-service post. For a while she was rumored to be a candidate to head the World Bank, but that job went to someone else. Since then she's settled into the life of a former corporate executive in demand for convention keynotes.Her comments surface sporadically from reports around the world of her occasionally frank speeches.After giving an October keynote in Singapore on the essentials of leadership, Fiorina told the audience at the Asia Business Leaders Forum that while at HP she underestimated some people and overestimated others, according to two newspapers in Singapore. She also said she had not prepared people for the magnitude of the problems associated with the Compaq merger, which was completed in 2002.One industry analyst, Rob Enderle, said Fiorina's key flaw was misjudging people. She erroneously believed in the abilities of some people she picked as lieutenants but blew off powerful people like William Hewlett, the son of an HP co-founder who waged a publicly messy proxy battle against the merger.She also failed to build a solid group of supporters at HP. ``She thought she could dictate loyalty,'' Enderle said. ``She didn't have to build it.''But Fiorina isn't staying home to pout in her gated Los Altos Hills home. She'll be jetting off -- as was her style while still CEO -- to Australia and New Zealand to speak, again, about leadership at the Global Business Forum conferences starting Feb. 22.She'll be hobnobbing with other wealthy and well-known -- albeit unemployed -- ex-chief executives speaking at the event: Disney's ex-CEO Michael Eisner, Asimco Technologies' ex-CEO Jack Perkowski, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Conference organizers will pay more than $50,000 for her hour-long leadership talk and question-and-answer session. That puts her in roughly the same league as Donald Trump, NFL Hall of Fame Lineman Howie Long, and Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson -- who are among the two dozen speech-makers available through the Washington Speakers Bureau for at least $40,001 a pop.Enderle, the industry analyst, thinks Fiorina's new focus as corporate board member makes better use of her talents.``She has amazing vision,'' Enderle said. As HP's CEO, ``her problem was she was not operationally oriented.'' But he added, ``On a board, she could be a relatively good asset.''Fiorina is also an impressive speaker, one of the few who rivals Apple Computer's Steve Jobs, Enderle said. And people will come to see the first woman to run one of the largest 20 U.S. companies, even if she did disappear from Fortune's list of 50 most powerful women in 2005.

Rich Tehrani, who snagged Fiorina to speak at the Internet conference last fall, said she seemed unpretentious and approachable when he called to arrange the appearance.``She wanted to make sure we didn't call her the most powerful woman in the world,'' Tehrani said. ``She seemed beyond humble. She's put on this pedestal by so many people, and yet is more humble than the person sitting next to you.''``Maybe that has to do with not working,'' he mused. ``Retirement may relax you to such a degree that you're not stressed out anymore.''

HP reports first quarter 2006 results

"Growth was balanced across most of our businesses and geographies, cash flow was strong and we were disciplined in controlling costs. While hard work remains ahead of us, our efforts are starting to show results." (Mark Hurd)

Click on the title to learn more

"HP Smells The Team Spirit ! " (Forbes)

Mark Hurd has made eight executive hires since last June, and so far, the new faces have done wonders for the company's spirit, according to Bear Stearns analyst Andrew Neff.

"It appears that CEO Hurd is assembling an impressive team of executives from the outside in key management roles," wrote the analyst in a recent report. Examples of recent hires include former CEOs of Palm and Vignette

This is in contrast to prior leadership at HP, which were mostly internally supplied. "It corroborates our view of a renewed sense of vigor and competitive spirit at HP," Neff said. The analyst believes HP represents a turnaround story, not a growth story.

"It will need to develop growth engines as the cost story matures," Neff said. "However, investors often miss viable turnarounds as they seem too expensive for value players."

European WFR status

In the first comment !

Fortune magazine 100 Best Companies : HP did not make the list.

The list has been published by Fortune since 1998. HP was included on the list the first four years. In 2002 and 2003, HP was not eligible to for consideration due to the merger. In 2004 and 2005, HP applied but did not make the list. The liste for 2005 was released January 9th

More information on the list may be found at: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/
Genentech captured the top spot on this year's list. The majority of the companies on the list are small (1,000-2,500 employees) to midsized companies (2,500-10,000 employees), based on the number of U.S. employees. HP competitors such as IBM, Lexmark and Dell do not appear on the list. Also absent are other large global companies that HP benchmarks against such as GE and GM. High-tech companies on the list include Cisco, Microsoft, Intel, Yahoo, Intuit and Network Appliance

IBM to Freeze $48B Pension Plan in 2008

BOSTON (AP) -- Furthering corporate America's move away from pensions, International Business Machines Corp. said Thursday it will freeze its $48 billion pension plan in 2008 and instead enhance its 401(k) benefits for its 125,000 U.S. workers.

Nearly all IBM's U.S. employees -- everyone hired before Jan. 1, 2005 -- have pension benefits accruing under a traditional annuity-like plan or a cash-balance plan, which gives workers interest-bearing funds that they can take with them if they leave the company.

But these "defined-benefit" plans are becoming rarer. Companies say the plans carry too many uncertainties, largely because swings in interest rates and investment performances change accounting considerations and the amounts businesses must contribute to their pension funds in a given year.

Industrial giants such as IBM and airlines that still carry pension obligations say the costs and complexities hamper their ability to compete with younger, more nimble rivals that aren't saddled with pension obligations.

Beginning in 2008, then, IBM workers' pension benefits will be locked in place, based on salary and length of service. The accrual of benefits will stop, meaning future raises or additional years with the company will not signify bigger pension checks upon retirement.

Instead, IBM will increase its contribution to its 401(k) plans, in which workers get a defined, predictable amount from the company that they're responsible for investing. IBM will double the percentage of employees' contributions that it matches, to 6 percent of salary; certain employees will be eligible to receive more. Current retirees will see no changes.

IBM executives said that by no longer having to account for pension accruals that would have mounted after 2008, the Armonk, N.Y.-based technology giant will save between $450 million and $500 million this year alone and up to $3 billion from 2006 through 2010.

However, the change will result in a $270 million charge in the just-completed fourth quarter of 2005.

The action mirrors steps IBM has already taken in other countries, and follows IBM's decision to offer 401(k) plans only -- no pensions -- to workers hired after Jan. 1, 2005. Similarly, rival Hewlett-Packard Co. decided last year to offer only a 401(k) plan to U.S. workers hired this year and beyond.

Patrick Kendall, a pension expert at Diversified Investment Advisors, a consulting firm specializing in retirement plans, said the "hard freeze" IBM announced Thursday was almost inevitable considering the company's earlier "soft freeze" of closing the plan to new employees.

"I think a lot of these sponsors would like to get out of (defined-benefit plans) entirely, just terminate the plan," he said. But many companies find that termination fees and other complications negate that strategy, he said.

Pensions have been a touchy subject for IBM, which was hit with a federal lawsuit -- settled for up to $1.4 billion -- filed by employees who contended that IBM committed age discrimination when it shifted to a cash-balance plan.

Randy MacDonald, IBM's head of human resources, said the decision was unrelated to the lawsuit.

"It's all about cost-competitiveness, so that we could continue to be the financially viable company that we are," he said.

Joint letter from UNI-Europa and EMF to Francesco Serafini, HP Managing Director Europe, concerning the job cuts in Europe

Brussels, 21 December 2005
10757/BS/SD

Dear Mr Serafini,

We are writing to you on behalf of the EMF and UNI Europa, the two European trade union organisations that represent employees in the IT sector and in HP as well.

We are seriously concerned about the job cuts announced by HP with some 14'500 jobs to disappear worldwide and more than 6'000 in Europe. We are afraid that redundancies of this size will come with many personal sacrifices and individual hardships, which should be avoided and reduced to the minimum.

Apart from the fact that some countries are affected disproportionately, we are more worried about the lack of a discernible and cohesive business strategy that is guiding the envisaged restructuring.

From what is going on currently one might get the impression that people have to pay with their jobs to please Wall Street and shareholders.

Our member organisations, who are dealing with your national and local management report to us, that the downsizing process is not lead by clear business objectives and the impact on people's mood and motivation is devastating. They have urged us to address their concerns directly with you.

This is why we suggest to meet with you at your earliest convenience in order to learn more about HP's rationale behind the current restructuring and share with you the grievance and sorrows of HP employees that have been brought to our attention.

Yours sincerly,
UNI-Europa EMF
Bernadette Ségol Peter Scherrer
Regional secretary General secretary

HP chief outlines his expansion strategy

"Mark Hurd, chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, on Tuesday outlined a three-pronged strategy for expanding the world's second biggest computer maker by capitalising on growing demand for digital printing, mobile computing, and software and equipment for a new generation of corporate data systems.

"[These trends] play to our strengths . . . and we are going to take advantage of them," said Mr Hurd, who has been charged with turning round HP after several years of inconsistent results and stock market underperformance.

Speaking at his first analyst meeting since he replaced Carly Fiorina as chief executive this year, Mr Hurd said HP expected revenue growth of 4-6 per cent for the year ending in October 2007.

HP also announced an expansion into the European imaging and printing market with the acquisition of bilderservice.de, the German owner of Pixaco, an online photo printing service.

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, comes on the heels of HP's purchase of Snapfish, a US-based online photo service with 20m registered customers.

It represents the latest in a series of moves intended to transform HP's imaging and printing business, best known for its desktop printers, into a key driver of growth by expanding into the market for commercial-scale printing, digital photos and copying as well as other high-end imaging services.

HP will also try to take advantage of a shift towards decentralised, low-cost corporate IT systems, or "data centre architectures", which are less labour-intensive but require more sophisticated management software than traditional mainframe computers.

Mr Hurd said HP would focus on providing mobile computing services that allow customers to access data securely wherever they want.

Mr Hurd did not announce any new restructuring in addition to a $1.9bn "catch-up action" unveiled in July, which has seen HP shed about 15,300 jobs and restructure its salesforce and IT systems.

However, he indicated the company would keep watching costs as it attempted to adapt to a trend towards lower operating margins in the computer industry.

Shares in HP fell 2.5 per cent to $29.22 in midday trading in New York."

Mr Hurd, where is your expansion strategy ?

Mark Hurd will slice 15300 jobs, up from the 14500 initially planned

ZDnet

"HP announced additional job cuts Thursday after it reported that fourth-quarter earnings rose 7 percent, exceeding analyst expectations.

Without the special charges, HP earned $1.5bn, or 51 cents a share. Analysts expected the number two personal computer maker to earn 46 cents per share, according to a survey by Thomson First Call.

HP's profits were partially eaten up by $1.57bn in retirement and severance packages for 15,300 employees who will be leaving the company in the next 15 months. That number adds 800 layoffs not factored in to the 14,500 announced in July by chief executive Mark Hurd.

"On July 19, we had a model. As we discussed then, we had to operationalise [sic] the model, and 14,500 moved to 15,300," Hurd said during a conference call with reporters. "It was our best view at the time."

The Inquirer

"HP will cut even more staff after its CEO Mark Hurd announced financial results showing a 62 per cent drop in its financial fourth quarter profit.

Reliable sources warn the job cuts will affect support as HP recruits additional outsourcing partners. Many of these are in the learning stage but that's going to change.

For example, in Germany, a number of units are expected to go to partners in former East Germany. Customers expecting mission critical support will change from specialised standby engineers to re-vamped "support centres".

Some engineers will go to Synstar or suffer the WFR (workforce reduction).

Another insider said: "HP is mostly like a black hole. First growing after acquiring customers then imploding to a small black area invisible to the market." From which you will gather that morale within the ranks of HP is still not brilliant."

HP quarterly net profit falls on job cut charges

Clic on title for more info

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 17 (Reuters) - No. 2 computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co. on Thursday posted a lower quarterly net profit, due in part to charges related to ongoing jobs cuts.

Per-share results excluding items beat the average Wall Street estimate and shares of HP rose nearly 3 percent in extended trade. Net income for its fourth fiscal quarter ended Oct. 31 fell to $416 million, or 14 cents per share, from $1.09 billion, or 37 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $22.9 billion from $21.4 billion.

Excluding items, HP said its profit rose to 51 cents per share, compared with the average Wall Street estimate of 46 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates. Revenue was pegged at $22.8 billion.

HP is in the process of rolling through job cuts of nearly 15,000 it announced in July to help cut annual costs by almost $2 billion. The company's per-share results, excluding items, in all four fiscal 2005 quarters have topped average Wall Street expectations as its businesses have improved.

For the current, first quarter, HP said it expects earnings per share before items of 46 cents to 48 cents, excluding 3 cents to 4 cents of stock-based compensation expense.

Analysts currently expect Palo Alto, California-based HP to earn 44 cents per share, on average, before items, in the first quarter.

So far this year, HP is the best performing stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, with a gain of some 35 percent, based on Wednesday's closing price. Over the same period, shares of IBM, also a Dow component, have declined some 12 percent. The index is down roughly 1 percent on the year.

HP shares rose 73 cents, or 2.6 percent, to close at $29.00 on the New York Stock Exchange. In extended trade on Inet, the shares climbed to $29.80.

Hewlett Packard aims to transfer the jobs from Erskine, Renfrewshire, to the Czech Republic

Times (Scotland) , Nov. 9, 2005
An electronics giant announced plans yesterday to make 200 contract staff redundant at one of its plants in Scotland.

Hewlett Packard aims to transfer the jobs from Erskine, Renfrewshire, to the Czech Republic, reducing its Scottish workforce by a tenth.In a statement, the company said: "We have taken this decision as part of our global supply chain strategy to drive increased value for our customers and ensure that we remain competitive in the marketplace." The company went on to say that they remained "committed to our presence in Scotland".Jim Sheridan, the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, accused Hewlett Packard of "corporate greed" and called for new laws to ensure that companies carry out proper consultations.He said: "This is devastating for the local community, the workers and their families. It's just sheer corporate greed coupled with the opportunity to exploit Eastern European cheap labour."More than 2,000 people are employed on the Erskine site in manufacturing, sales and customer service.

The Herald (Scotland) / Nov. 09 2005

The decision by HP will bring further pressure on the government to tighten up its employment legislation.The jobs, which have been outsourced to Foxconn, a Hewlett-Packard partner, will move to Pardubice in the Czech Republic.Tina Green, HP's director of government and public affairs, said: "The announcement is part of HP's strategy to use partners such as Foxconn to take on the large volume manufacturing of less complex products."Working in partnership with HP, Foxconn will be able to achieve greater competitiveness through economies of scale, vertical integration of the manufacturing process, and by applying their expertise in low cost manufacturing. This strategy allows HP to focus on our core competencies of innovation and high value services."Ms Green added that the "higher-skill operation" employment base, customer support, and sales call centre positions at Erskine would be unaffected. Jim Sheridan, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, who condemned the job losses, intends to call on the government to take steps to give workers more protection from the whims of multinationals.He said: "This is just corporate greed with employees thrown on the scrapheap. The only thing that is going to stop this is improved and effective employment legislation. Again the consultation process, so called, with HP is a farce. "These decisions are made with little or no feelings for those who have lost their jobs or the wider community. This is about exploiting cheap labour costs in Eastern Europe."Stephen Boyd, assistant secretary of the STUC, said: "It is a long-standing problem that these multinationals are able to treat Scottish workers in this way. The outsourcing of low value manufacturing jobs is happening time and again, and we really have to ask where large numbers of people will find employment in the future."Last month, The Herald revealed workers at the plant were being sent home during quiet periods, but expected to finish shifts at later dates. The workers said they owed the company hundreds of hours and were being forced to give up days off to make up for the "lost" time.Hewlett Packard transferred 260 staff contracts to employment agency Manpower two years ago, and it is understood the majority of those affected by the cuts are employed by Manpower and Excel.

Nice !

HP Work Force Reduction

What’s happening locally?
HP'colleagues, broadcast here your input!

Last minute : news from Germany

European Unions in action

In the US

HP strategy : explanations needed !

"I Want HP to be a boring company"

HP layoffs : European Commission involved !

A meeting in Brussels has been organized by the EMF (European Metalworkers' Federation) with Fernando Vasquez (Adviser to the General Corporate restructuring, European Commission, Directorate-General Director for Social Employment Affairs and Equal Opportunities ) accompanied by two experts.

EMF was represented by 9 people of 4 different nationalities of which Peter Scheerer, Secretary-general of the EMF, only interlocutor recognized by the European Commission.

Writer of this summary is Marc-Antoine Marcantoni, responsible for HP case within the EMF.

Fernando Vasquez read the letter sent by the French Government seizing the European Commission, and indicated that it had met representatives of the direction of HP which gave him few information. HP Management told them that delocalized employment would be around weak qualification! It is of course contrary with the reality of the HP project and we made the demonstration of it.

The European Commission is taking HP case very seriously and held a meeting as of September 30th about restructuring projects in Europe with HP like central subject. The Commission notes that a great part of the delocalizations take place inside the European zone, and thus from the employment removed in France, Germany, Holland, the United Kingdom will find themselves in Wroclaw, Bucarest and Bratislava. They were interested and anxious to note that these jobs will go later further to Asia and will not remain in Eastern Europe.

The Commission will play the following roles on HP subject :

- Legal to make sure that the consultations of the EC European are done while following the law strictly. A debate took place on the refusal of access of independent observers, the lack of transmitted information and the confidentiality imposed by HP.
- Instrumental with the installation of specific devices to minimize the social consequences.
- Strategic because HP project is causing a shock wave in the EC on the delocalization of added value employment. Where are the European jobs of tomorrow ? Which strategy and R/D in Europe for the large multinationals like HP ?. These subjects cannot remain taboos any more.

Next Stages:
- European Commission restructuring meeting on September 30th in Brussels
- EMF Meeting about HP with all the countries on October 27th in Brussels
- EMF Meeting with Mr Spidla, head of Social Employment Affairs at the EC, proposed by the European Commission
- EMF Meeting with Fernando Serafini asked by the FEM
- HP case highlighted at the European Trade Union Confederation (Etuc)

More infos on EMF which gathers 65 trade unions in 33 countries of Europe and represents in Europe our social, political and economic interests : http://www.emf-fem.org
One of its subjects of predilection : the unexploited know-how of European workers.

HP could cut fewer jobs in France than it first announced

PARIS, Sept 26 (Reuters) - HP could cut fewer jobs in France than it first announced, a French minister said following talks with HP executives on Monday, announcing what could mark a small victory for the government.

President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin have led efforts to force HP to rethink plans to cut 1,240 jobs in France -- a sensitive issue as the government is seeking to reduce unemployment running at close to 10 percent.

Labour Relations Minister Gerard Larcher said the head of HP's European operations, Francesco Serafini, had explained the company's position during talks on Monday afternoon.

"(Serafini) confirmed that the number of 1,240 job cuts put forward so far was not definitive and could thus be revised downwards," Larcher's ministry said in a statement after the talks.

"The minister took note of these commitments and of the assurances given as to the lasting presence of Hewlett-Packard in France," the ministry said, adding Larcher hoped for a constructive dialogue between HP management and workers.

If the job reductions are confirmed to be significantly less than announced, the news would spell a victory for the government of Villepin, who has defended a policy he calls "economic patriotism" in vowing to take a tough line against any company moves that are not in France's interest.

...

Starck told Le Figaro newspaper that the U.S. computer company had no plans to quit France, despite the dispute.

CODE OF CONDUCT

Villepin said the "code of good conduct" for companies should focus on respect for the law, clarification of rules for firms receiving public aid, and better information for the authorities on companies planning major restructuring.

"We hope that everyone is assessing what each job represents, and what consequences it can imply in terms of personal drama, what difficulties for family life," Villepin said on a visit to the central city of Tours.

"This is not about introducing burdensome systems, which would constitute barriers. What we want is to be able to accompany everyone so that the general interest is being preserved."

Villepin said he was very attached to the presence of HP in France, where the firm accounted for some 5,000 jobs. He said he hoped the company's reorganisation would be negotiated with its workers, and the impact on jobs reduced as much as possible.

France keeps up pressure on Hewlett-Packard jobs

France keeps up pressure on Hewlett-Packard jobs
Fri Sep 23, 2005 11:26 AM ET OYONNAX, France, Sept 23 (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin maintained pressure on Hewlett-Packard Co. on Friday, calling on the U.S. computer company to rethink its plan to cut 1,240 jobs in France.

The conservative government, under pressure to reduce unemployment from close to 10 percent, has scheduled a meeting with the firm's European head, Francesco Serafini, and referred its job-cut plans to the European Commission for review.

HP said in July it would axe about 10 percent of its work force to cut costs by $1.9 billion a year. The world's second-biggest computer maker has said a total of 2,500 jobs will go in Germany and Britain, in addition to the 1,240 in France.
The EU Commission has said it has no power to prevent HP dismissing workers. But France's conservative government has stepped up rhetoric over the case this week, making clear it is ready to put up a fight.
Labour Relations Minister Gerard Larcher is set to meet Serafini on Monday.
Villepin is trying to win back voters' confidence after they rejected the European Union's constitution in a referendum in May. Many French people said they voted "No" because of job concerns.

Chirac Calls on EU to Examine HP Plan

PARIS, Sept 20 (Reuters) - President Jacques Chirac has asked the French government to refer Hewlett-Packard's plan to cut jobs in France to the European Commission, a source close to the president said on Tuesday. "On the question of the announcement of the reduction in (the number of) workers at the Hewlett-Packard group, he asked the government to pursue all the efforts underway to respond," the source said.

"Given the impact of this plan throughout Europe, he asked the government to refer it to the European Commission," the source added.

News of the group's job cuts in France emerged earlier this month and was a blow to Chirac's conservative government, which has made tackling an unemployment rate of almost 10 percent a top priority.

"For the time being the Commission has not received anything but once we do, we will take it very seriously and look into it," said European Commission employment spokeswoman Katharina von Schnurbein.

In France, Thousands of HP Workers Walk Off Job in Protest !

HP to cut 1,500 jobs in Germany, 1240 in France, 968 in Britain

LONDON/FRANKFURT/PARIS, Sept 13 (Reuters + AP) - Hewlett-Packard will cut 2,500 jobs in Germany and Britain, it said on Tuesday -- a sixth of the jobs it plans to slash worldwide as it slims down to compete in cut-throat printer and computer markets.

The world's second-biggest computer maker said it would cut 1,500 jobs in Germany and 968 jobs in Britain as it streamlines its global workforce to save $1.9 billion a year.

In Germany, Europe's biggest economy, HP will lose a sixth of its staff by the end of next year, adding to anxieties about record unemployment there ahead of a general election on Sunday which Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is expected to lose.

A spokesman for HP Germany said all the company's main divisions would be affected, and that negotiations had begun with trade unions.

In Britain, the jobs will be cut over the next 12 months. A spokesman said production there would be little affected, with the job cuts mainly in human resources, IT and finance.

He would not give a figure for compulsory redundancies, saying it was too early in the process.

HP's five British sites -- Bracknell, Bristol, Glasgow, Reading and Warrington -- will all see job cuts but Glasgow will not be heavily affected because it is a production centre. "It is all about streamlining the company," the UK spokesman said.

In France, Workers' unions called a one-day national strike to protest planned job cuts...

The walkout is scheduled for Friday at the company's sites across France, with a march scheduled near its main offices.

1,240 of a total 4,800 jobs will be cut in France. France's employment minister, Gerard Larcher, will meet with company executives on Friday.

The job cuts, announced by new Chief Executive Mark Hurd in July, are the deepest since ousted CEO Carly Fiorina cut around the same number of staff in May 2002 after HP bought rival Compaq Computer.

On Aug. 16, HP posted quarterly results that topped Wall Street forecasts as its personal and business computer units showed strong improvement.

But analysts still want HP to cut more jobs, to spin off its lucrative imaging and printing group or to divest its personal computing business, where costs are still higher than those of Dell, its bigger rival.

HP's shares, which have outperformed the DJ Industrial Average by 44 percent over the past 12 months, were trading 0.8 percent lower at $27.52

Last Friday, union officials said Hewlett-Packard was axing 6,000 jobs in Europe, with more than half the cuts in France, Germany and Britain.

Friday's news emerged as European finance ministers met in Manchester, where Britain's Gordon Brown urged action to make Europe a "high growth, low unemployment" area instead of a continent plagued by low growth and high unemployment.

Hewlett-Packard to cut 6000 jobs in Europe

HP did not say how many of the cuts would be voluntary or give a breakdown of the number of jobs to be shed in each country. HP's European spokeswoman Anette Nachbar said the company was under a legal obligation in many countries to inform workers' representatives before announcing the cuts.

"The local consultation processes are still ongoing," Nachbar said. She confirmed that the 5,900 European layoffs are part of a plan announced in July to cut 14,500 jobs worldwide and overhaul HP's retirement plan in order to save $1.9 billion a year.
HP France, the French arm of the company, confirmed that 1,240 jobs will be shed in France, where the company employs about 4,800 workers.
Germany's IG Metall trade union said HP had not yet notified staff representatives of any job cuts there but that an announcement on possible reductions was expected this week.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP employs about 44,000 workers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, but Nachbar said the company does not disclose the numbers of people it employs in individual countries.
HP is fighting to stay competitive with formidable rivals like International Business Machines Corp. in the high-end market and Dell Inc. in budget PCs.
Announcing the French job cuts, HP France said the layoffs had been decided "to safeguard the future" of the company.
Although the cuts will not contribute significantly to France's jobless rate -- currently at 9.9 percent -- they come at a sensitive time for President Jacques Chirac's conservative government as it struggles to contain union protests against labor-market reforms and boost flagging economic morale.
France's Deputy Labor Minister Gerard Larcher said he will meet HP executives Friday to discuss the planned cuts, vowing to "make sure the company takes all its responsibilities toward the employees concerned."
Michel Destot, the Socialist deputy mayor of the southern France city of Grenoble -- where HP has one of its French plants -- said the layoffs were "unacceptable" and demanded that HP managers also meet local politicians to discuss scaling back the job cuts.
"We have the capacity in France to have Hewlett-Packard sites that can develop," Destot said in an interview with France-2 television.
Shares of Hewlett-Packard fell 5 cents to $27.68 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

HP European Work Council strongly disagrees !

"The EWC met with EMEA Management for an exceptional meeting in Bruselles on September 8/9 2005. The cause of this meeting was to be informed and consulted about the planned reorganization in EMEA, as announced already on a worldwide basis by our CEO Mark Hurd in July 19th. The EWC strongly disagrees with the proposed Work Force Management (WFR) related actions and move of many jobs ouside our countries. Management presented a lot of information to the EWC. But for the purpose of consultation the EWC expects still more knowledgeable information on top of this. The actions presented show a wide range of expected cost saving. The EWC addressed the need to let these projected cost savings prove to be right, before they have an effect in Workforce management numbers. The EWC is strongly convinced, that the proposed headcount reduction can be mitigated, if management would consider : better use of internal redeployment processes improvements in re-skilling activites of our colleagues ; optimization and reduction of internal processes in order to get more focus on the real job ; re-evaluate the proposed outsourcing plans in order to keep HP employees in their jobs ; give support to employees in finding alternatives inside or event outside HP and provide enough time for redeployment- giving work council enough time and resource to help employees ; if no alternative possible, intense use of part-time work should be considered ; fair and equitable conditions (severance packages, Social Plan) for all employees affected in Europe. The EWC asks management to focus onto new markets, products and services in order to ensure the European growth path for hp and therefore secure our jobs in Europe"