HP Invent...

End of The Soap Opera ?

2011-09-24T08:10:00.000-07:00

"Having thrown Leo Apotheker under the bus, Hewlett-Packard's board of directors clicked the "buy it now" button last week and tapped current director and former eBay chief Meg Whitman as CEO...." barrons.com

How long can Meg last ?

• John Young : 14 years (1978-1992)

• Lew Platt : 7 years (1992-1999)

• Carly Fiorina : 6 years (1999-2005)
• Mark Hurd : 5 years (2005-2010)
• Leo Apotheker : 1 year (2010-2011)

Mark Hurd sex harassment letter published !

HP has abandoned plans to offshore 200 jobs in UK (+ 64 in France)

2011-09-14T04:43:00.000-07:00

http://www.theregister.co.uk/

HP has abandoned plans to offshore the jobs of IT support staff working on the Adams 2 contract for the Department of Work and Pensions.

The saga began in June when HP first revealed it was in talks to transfer some 200 roles based in north-east England to India to help it match the Government's demand to cut costs.

The move was met with obvious resistance from HP employees, the Public and Commercial Services Union and latterly local MPs, who highlighted the security implications of overseas workers managing a live database on 25 million citizens.

"Having discussed the proposal with our government client, we have agreed that in this instance we will continue to carry out the work in the UK," said an HP spokesman in a statement sent to The Reg.

Due to the sensitive nature of the work carried out by HP employees at the DWP, the Government had the final say on transfer of roles but the PCS also put pressure on proceedings by balloting staff on their appetite to strike.

Slightly less than half of unionised members turned out but 90 per cent of those voted for industrial action short of a strike, including working to rule and disrupting the knowledge transfer process.

Commenting on the latest development, PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "This is very good news for our members who have campaigned hard on this and been rewarded with saving their jobs.

"But it also means that the very real concerns we raised about data security have been listened to, and we are pleased that ministers have seen sense."

Employment minister Chris Grayling said he had asked contractors to "find a way to work in the UK".

"We have always been clear that we will not offshore any DWP jobs, and we are exploring how future offshoring can be minimised," he said.

And also 64 jobs saved in France : http://cftchp.blogspot.com/2011/09/2-delocalisations-annulees.html

Hewlett-Packard on the Auction Block

2011-08-23T08:39:00.000-07:00

Hall of shame for Leo Apotheker and the HP Board

Armchair Investment Bankers Put Hewlett-Packard on the Auction Block

Hewlett-Packard's Acts Of Desperation

More Questions Than Answers in Hewlett-Packard's Acquisition of Autonomy

HP Shareholders Vote Against Executive Compensation Packages

2011-03-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

HP investors, gathered at an annual meeting, voted against proposed compensation packages for top executives, signaling that shareholders want more influence over how managers are rewarded.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-23/hewlett-packard-shareholders-vote-against-executive-pay-1-.html?cmpid=yhoo

Apotheker Seeks to Save HP's `Lost Soul'

2011-03-12T07:27:00.000-08:00

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-09/apotheker-seeks-to-save-hp-s-lost-soul-with-software-growth.html

A must read article !

Spain : protests against HP lay-offs

2011-02-21T04:45:00.000-08:00

Trade unionists of CCOO and CGT protest against layoffs at HP Spain in front of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9OodmF1f4Y (YouTube)

http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Blogs/UNI_HP_EDS.nsf/dx/HP%20Protest_Mobile%20World%20Congress.doc/$file/HP%20Protest_Mobile%20World%20Congress.doc

What HP is all about in 30 seconds

2011-02-12T09:03:00.000-08:00

The Economic Times quotes HP’s Léo Apotheker on his plans for HP’s future. Apotheker touted the experience of the company’s new board members, the company’s moves to strengthen “certain parts” of its technology portfolio, and the company’s framework uniting its diverse areas. Apotheker also said, “The first thing I want in 4-5 years is for people to be able to articulate what HP is all about in 30 seconds

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/features/corporate-dossier/hps-ceo-leo-apotheker-on-how-he-plans-to-make-the-worlds-largest-it-co-dance/articleshow/7468476.cms

Can HP become a cool company ?

2011-02-03T05:11:00.000-08:00

BBC News with Leo Apotheker at Davos.
You should read this : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12291529

"I hope one day people will say 'this is as cool as HP', not 'as cool as Apple'"

Ex-HP CEO Mark Hurd Fights To Keep Letter Confidential

2010-12-29T01:28:00.000-08:00

(Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co's former chief executive, Mark Hurd, asked to intervene in a Delaware shareholder lawsuit as he tries to keep private a letter tied to his abrupt departure.

In court documents filed on Tuesday, Hurd asked to become a party to a lawsuit brought by a shareholder against Hewlett-Packard for the narrow purpose of keeping under wraps a letter sent to him. Both the shareholder and the company have said they do not believe the letter should be considered confidential.

Hurd, who has since joined Oracle as president, resigned suddenly from Hewlett-Packard in August, stunning investors and sparking an investigation by regulators. The letter at the center of the Delaware Chancery Court fight was sent by attorney Gloria Allred on behalf of Jodie Fisher, a contractor for Hewlett Packard. Allred was attempting to mediate a dispute between Hurd and Fisher, who has said the letter in dispute contained "many inaccuracies," according to court documents. Fisher sparked an investigation that eventually led to Hurd's departure.

The shareholder lawsuit was brought by Ernesto Espinoza, who sued the company to inspect its books.

SEC opens inquiry on Hurd resignation

2010-12-21T10:46:00.000-08:00

Federal regulators have opened a broad inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Mark Hurd’s resignation from HP, investigating Hurd’s use of corporate expenses as well as a claim that Hurd had provided event contractor Jodie Fisher with inside information.

As part of the probe, the Securities and Exchange Commission is checking whether Mr. Hurd passed information about H-P's $13.9 billion acquisition of technology-consulting company Electronic Data Systems Corp. to a former H-P event hostess in 2008, before the deal was announced.

Leo Apotheker's Top 11 Priorities For The New Year

2010-12-05T07:00:00.000-08:00

ChannelWeb, December 01, 2010

New HP CEO Leo Apotheker, who took the helm on November 1, is already signaling his top priorities for 2011. Among the areas that the 20-year-software-veteran has singled out are increasing software sales and doing a better job bringing consumer technology breakthroughs to businesses. Here are Apotheker's top 11 priorities for 2011 gleaned from his early conversations with Wall Street analysts and reporters.

1/ Increase software sales

Increasing HP's software sales has been a major theme for Apotheker. The former CEO of ERP software giant SAP has pointed out several times that software makes up a meager three percent of HP's $126 billion in annual sales.

"We need more software both as a category and also across the portfolio so that we can differentiate our individual products and services," said Apotheker. So just what kind of software sales gains is he looking for? "Doubling it wouldn't be too bad," said Apotheker. "Tripling it would be even better!

2/ Foster more HP innovation with increased R&D spending

Make no mistake about it. Apotheker is a technologist. And he is determined that HP leverage its huge scale to deliver more technology breakthroughs to the marketplace. Apotheker calls it accelerating HP's innovation cycle. HP's R&D budget was up more than sales growth year-over-year in 2010. Expect that trend to continue. And look for Apotheker to push the R&D team hard to deliver advances that provide near term product advances for HP.

3/ Upping HP's services quotient across the company

Apotheker wants to plug more of HP's services offerings into more deals. He sees services, like software, as a missed opportunity for the computer giant. This follows two years after HP acquired EDS for $13.9 billion. HP Services revenue was essentially flat at $34.93 billion in fiscal year 2010 compared with $34.69 billion for 2009. Apotheker says that HP needs to break down some technology silohs it has between the product groups and the services team and add "services that cut across all the segments."

4/ Beefing up HP's direct sales force

Apotheker headed up a large direct sales force at SAP. And he has already signaled his intent to grow HP's direct sales force. "We feel that adding all these people we can provide our customers way better service so we'll continue doing that," he said. Look for HP to add more direct sales talent to its services team. Apotheker also aims to step up the training and solutions focus of the direct sales force. "Trust me, we'll be focusing on that even more in the future," he said.

5/ Improve HP employee morale

Apotheker has moved quickly to get HP employee support for the next big cultural shift at the company. Cost cutting and salary cuts were the order of the day under former HP CEO Mark Hurd. Only three weeks on the job, Apotheker reinstituted salary increases in Fiscal Year 2011 as part of the HP's normal annual review process.

"HP employees are a highly competitive group who want to win," he said. "They also want to be rewarded for their performance." You can almost hear HP employees cheering Apotheker.

6/ Provide customers choice, not proprietary technology lock-in

HP may have the broadest and deepest product line in the information technology marktetplace. But don't look for the company to attempt to lock customers into a single end-to-end vertical technology stack. Apotheker says customers are looking for choice not proprietary technology lock-ins. HP has made sure its open industry standard servers run the full range of software solutions from the likes of Oracle, SAP, and Microsoft. Expect that to continue under Apotheker.

7/ Double-down on HP's networking business

It's no mistake that Apotheker has singled out the impressive sales growth gains in HP's ProCurve networking business. He sees the networking business as a huge opportunity for HP to play a greater role providing converged infrastructure with HP servers, storage and networking. HP said networking sales increased a whopping 227 percent overall in the fourth fiscal quarter 2010. HP has enrolled 400 of its top global accounts in the HP Networking proof-of-concept program. Look for Apotheker to lead the charge to increase the company's networking sales by an even greater margin in 2011.

8/ Make it easier for customers to do business with HP

Apotheker has met with countless HP customers who want to do more business with the computer giant but in some cases are put off by the difficulty of doing business with the $126 billion behemoth. "We need to make it easier for customers to do business with HP," he says. Look for Apotheker to take a number of steps to reduce the bureaucracy and the finger-pointing that has frustrated more than a few customers looking for help from HP.

9/ Faster sales growth in emerging markets

A self-described Global citizen, Apotheker has already traveled thousands of miles and met with customers and employees around the world. Look for him to spend a lot of time in emerging markets like India and China making sure that HP is firing on all cylinders leveraging its size to gain competitive advantage. Apotheker sees HP as a global citizen too that needs to do a better job outpacing the competition in those emerging markets.

10/ Offer customers more cloud and web mobility choices

Apotheker says customers are looking for information on demand anytime and anyplace—what he refers to as a "mobile instant on platform." Customers don't want to have to struggle to get information from the corporate network when they are on the road. And they don't want to be locked into a single public cloud. They want the cloud their way. And Apotheker aims to make sure they get it in whatever form they want it. "We will continue to deliver solutions in a hybrid environment whether it's on-premise through the cloud or hosted," he said.

11/ Leveraging consumer technology advances in the enterprise

Apotheker likes to point out that HP has a strong footprint in the both the consumer technology market and the enterprise computing business. In fact, he calls that consumer to enterprise connection HP's secret sauce. Look for Apotheker to push more consumer technology advances into the enterprise to give HP a competitive advantage. And look for him to do a much better job integrating consumer technology like the tablet into full fledged vertical market enterprise solutions.

The real story : why Hurd Lost Out as Board Lost Faith

2010-11-06T03:52:00.000-07:00

The Wall Street Journal

Best parts :

- "Dear Mr. Hurd," began the note that Mark Hurd read on June 29 in his office at Hewlett-Packard Co. "Please be advised that we represent Ms. Jodie Fisher regarding her claims... against Hewlett-Packard ('HP') and you, Mr. Mark Hurd, as an individual."

- An investigation by The Wall Street Journal into Mr. Hurd's sudden ouster reveals that the letter contained an explosive allegation: that in early 2008, Mr. Hurd told Ms. Fisher of a still-secret H-P plan to buy Electronic Data Systems Corp.

- In one previously undisclosed example: The CEO had told directors he didn't know Ms. Fisher acted in adult movies, say people briefed on the matter, but investigators hired by H-P learned he had visited Web pages showing her in pornographic scenes, including a site called "erotic4u.com."

- Another: Mr. Hurd told the board he didn't know Ms. Fisher well; later, in talking to investigators hired by H-P, he said they had a "very close personal relationship."

- The letter that set off the furor was sent on Ms. Fisher's behalf by celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred. It included an eight-page chronology of meetings in hotels around the world. At some, say people who have seen the letter, it alleged that Mr. Hurd sexually harassed Ms. Fisher, in certain cases touching her body in sexually suggestive ways.

- The letter also said Mr. Hurd and Ms. Fisher discussed intimate details of the CEO's life, including his personal life at home. And it alleged that Mr. Hurd told Ms. Fisher of H-P's plan to buy EDS at a Madrid meeting that began near the end of March 2008. H-P had just made a confidential offer to buy EDS; it wasn't until May that H-P unveiled the $13.9 billion deal.

- The board at first stood behind Mr. Hurd, accepting his assertion that Ms. Fisher's claims were baseless. When doubts developed, the board was split. Two directors argued almost to the end against ousting Mr. Hurd, say people familiar with the board.

- After Mr. Hurd got the letter from her lawyer, he and Ms. McIlvaine emailed it to H-P General Counsel Michael Holston, who forwarded it to directors. Several, said someone familiar with the board, then searched "Jodie Fisher" and learned of her adult-movie past.

On a conference call over the July 4 weekend, say people familiar with the call, directors who'd spoken to Mr. Hurd said he told them that he had dined with Ms. Fisher a few times but didn't know her well, and that all of her claims were false, including that he sexually harassed her and told her about the pending EDS deal. He also told board members that he never had sex with Ms. Fisher, said people familiar with the conversations. Directors were inclined to believe him. "Mark had unanimous support going into this," one person familiar with the board says. "The board was keenly interested in keeping him as CEO."

- Still, directors were concerned that Ms. Fisher's lawyer was Ms. Allred, who had built her practice representing women claiming to have been wronged by powerful men. The letter closed with an offer to settle, say people who've seen it.

- Some directors were haunted by H-P's 2006 "pretexting" scandal, in which investigators had snooped on phone records of reporters and others. One director resigned in anger over the spying, which the board didn't disclose. It faced a publicity debacle when details leaked, and the Securities and Exchange Commission chided its lack of disclosure. Ms. Fisher's claims, some now worried, might elicit similar criticism if they became known and hadn't been disclosed.

The board hired Washington law firm Covington & Burling for an internal investigation of the allegations. On the evening of July 28, directors gathered without Mr. Hurd at H-P headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif. They filled plates from a buffet and sat around a long table as they prepared to study the results of the law firm's probe. A Covington lawyer, Tom Williamson, described the result of a review of Mr. Hurd's phone calls, travel, expenses and PC usage, and interviews with Mr. Hurd, Ms. McIlvaine and other H-P employees. The picture that emerged was often at odds with Mr. Hurd's initial claims, according to documents reviewed by the Journal and to people familiar with the probe and the board.

Mr. Hurd and Ms. McIlvaine told Covington they first spoke to Ms. Fisher about a job at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica, Calif. Mr. Hurd interviewed her a second time in Denver, where the two had a three-hour dinner, and stayed at the same hotel. After her hiring, Ms. Fisher met Mr. Hurd in Atlanta, St. Louis, San Diego, Madrid, Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, Calif., Chicago, Beverly Hills
Mr. Hurd held executive events in many of those cities, it found, but at least twice the two met at places where no events were held. For instance, on Feb. 11, 2008, H-P sent Ms. Fisher to the Rancho Bernardo Inn near San Diego, where she dined with Mr. Hurd and spent a night. There was no H-P event at the hotel, the probe found.

Their last meeting was in Idaho. On Sept. 23, 2009, Ms. McIlvaine arranged by email for Ms. Fisher to travel to the Grove Hotel in Boise on Monday, Oct. 5. She arrived on a 6 p.m. flight. Covington said Mr. Hurd told its investigators that evening the two watched the Minnesota Vikings play the Green Bay Packers on TV, first in the hotel bar and later together in his hotel room.

The law firm's review found expense-account irregularities. Mr. Hurd's report for a $219.54 dinner at the Beverly Hills Ruth's Chris Steakhouse on June, 26, 2008, listed his guest as his security guard, Denis Lynch. The probe unearthed emails showing Ms. McIlvaine had actually planned the Ruth's Chris dinner for Ms. Fisher and Mr. Hurd. In an email to Ms. Fisher the next day, Ms. McIlvaine said she hoped the dinner had worked out.

The investigators told of a half-dozen dinners with notations saying Mr. Hurd had dined with Mr. Lynch, on occasions when Mr. Lynch said he wasn't present and when Mr. Hurd actually dined with Ms. Fisher. Mr. Hurd told the investigators mistakes on his expense reports weren't surprising because he didn't fill them out himself; he said Ms. McIlvaine would list Mr. Lynch as a dining companion because the two often ate together when they traveled.

Mr. Hurd told Covington on July 20 that he liked to relax with Ms. Fisher after H-P events and had discussed with her certain deeply personal details, including his life with his wife. He said he and Ms. Fisher had developed a "very close personal relationship" and he considered her "a positive uplifting person who left me feeling good at the end of the day.'

Contradicting directors' understanding that Mr. Hurd claimed to be unaware of Ms. Fisher's adult-film career, computer forensics showed that on April 27, 2009, he Googled "Jodie Fisher video" and then accessed "erotic4u.com" to view more than 30 Web pages, including ones showing scenes of Ms. Fisher in the 1997 adult film "Passion and Romance: Ocean of Dreams." He accessed scenes from the same film 14 days later, the probe found.

Covington, which wasn't able to interview either Ms. Allred or Ms. Fisher, found no evidence Mr. Hurd had sexually harassed Ms. Fisher. But its review left the board with evidence Mr. Hurd had underplayed his relationship with Ms. Fisher, and perhaps prevaricated about it.

The board took a quick poll on whether to disclose Ms. Fisher's allegations. Six favored disclosing and four were against it, according to a person familiar with the meeting. Three of those against—venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, former International Business Machines Corp. executive John Joyce, and legal entrepreneur Joel Hyatt—said that without evidence backing the allegations it was unclear what there was to disclose.

Director Lucille Salhany disagreed. She and several other directors cited the circumstances of Ms. Fisher's hiring—the CEO twice personally interviewing a person with no relevant experience for a minor position.

"The story has morphed already. He lied to my face and he's lying to you," Ms. Salhany told the other directors, according to people familiar with the meeting. "There's no grounds for trusting him."

The meeting ended at 2 a.m., July 29. By then, the board was heavily leaning toward a disclosure of the allegations, and most members agreed with Ms. Salhany that trust had been broken. They were unsure whether Mr. Hurd could continue to lead the company. Messrs. Hyatt and Joyce still hoped to avoid losing the CEO and disrupting H-P.

A few hours later, at 7:30 a.m., directors gathered for the second half of their regular board meeting.

After routine business, executives and others departed about 10:30, leaving the directors in executive session. For a moment, no one spoke. Then Mr. Hurd told the others to continue their discussion about him, and walked out. As they deliberated, Mr. Andreessen and Robert Ryan, the lead independent director, walked to Mr. Hurd's office to tell him the board planned to disclose Ms. Fisher's allegations and portions of the investigation, say people familiar with the proceedings.

"I am against disclosure of any kind," Mr. Hurd responded, these people say. The investigation hadn't confirmed sexual harassment, so there was no need to make the allegations public, he told them.

In the boardroom, the discussion focused on whether to keep Mr. Hurd as CEO. A sheet of paper was labeled with "Staying" on one part and "Departing" on another, and listed different disclosures the board might make, say people familiar with the meeting. The liaisons presented it to Mr. Hurd. "You've put me under siege," he told them.

When the board broke for the day, Mr. Hurd still had the support of Messrs. Hyatt and Joyce. Directors hoped the allegations wouldn't leak while they waited for a mediation session they had scheduled for a week later with Ms. Fisher's lawyer, where they hoped to dig into the alleged EDS leak and other claims.

That evening, Mr. Andreessen drove to Mr. Hurd's house to deliver an update, he later told the board. He told Mr. Hurd the board had decided to disclose some of Ms. Fisher's claims, and the remaining debate was over how to do so and whether Mr. Hurd could stay on, said someone familiar with what he told the board.

According to this person, Mr. Andreessen, referring to the hiring of a porn actress, told the CEO: "You have created a situation ideally suited for TMZ," the gossip website and TV program.

Mr. Hurd said he could reach a private settlement with Ms. Fisher that would lower the chance of Ms. Fisher's allegations ever becoming public. He offered a proposal: Let him resign in three to six months, after he helped find a replacement. It would be a graceful departure that to the outside would look like a retirement, said the person familiar with what Mr. Andreessen told the board.

Mr. Hurd and his lawyer spent the weekend calling directors, pleading for a meeting with the board, where he hoped to salvage his job or at least orchestrate a gradual transition, according to a conversation he had with acquaintances. But on Tuesday, Aug. 3, H-P director Larry Babbio told the CEO the board wanted to begin the process of letting him go.

The next day, Mr. Hurd's lawyers were in San Francisco working out the details of a settlement with Ms. Fisher's attorneys. The sides signed a pact around 2 a.m., say people familiar with the proceedings.

It included a confidentiality agreement designed to eliminate the risk of leaks from Ms. Fisher or her lawyers. Ms. Fisher wrote a brief letter absolving H-P of responsibility and declaring that there were "many inaccuracies" in the earlier letter, without specifying what they were. The brief letter said, "I do not believe that any of your behavior was detrimental to HP or in any way injured the company or its reputation." Mr. Hurd has said he made a financial settlement with her that was "de minimis."

H-P's legal team learned of the settlement at 7:30 a.m. Aug. 5, when a lawyer for the company was told the mediation was canceled because the case had been settled, said someone familiar with the matter.

Some directors felt blindsided. They had wanted to hear from Ms. Allred before a final vote on Mr. Hurd's fate and were counting on the mediation to evaluate the claim Mr. Hurd had leaked the EDS deal. A spokesman for Mr. Hurd said his lawyer told H-P it could talk to Ms. Fisher without violating the terms of the settlement.

Most board doubts about ousting Mr. Hurd disappeared. By the morning of Aug. 6, he had agreed to resign. The holdouts, Messrs. Joyce and Hyatt, agreed to make the vote unanimous.

The announcement came minutes after the stock market closed on Friday, Aug. 6: "HP CEO Mark Hurd Resigns."

Mr. Hurd is now co-president at Oracle Corp. The question of what, if anything, he told Ms. Fisher about the EDS deal in 2008 remains unresolved.

HP prepares to scrap a further 1,300 UK jobs

2010-10-12T09:47:00.000-07:00

The Independent + Telegraph Oct 12th

HP is preparing to slash a further 1,300 British jobs and move production overseas – a decision that led one trade union to describe the company as a "butcher".

The US technology giant has announced more than 2,000 UK job losses since June. Peter Skyte, the national officer for the Unite union, said: "Despite significant profits, HP appears hell-bent on continuing to butcher its highly skilled UK workforce ... Morale is at an all-time low."

HP said the cutbacks were part of a $1bn (£629m) restructuring of its services business, confirmed in June. As part of the overhaul, it plans to axe 9,000 staff from its global workforce, while filling 6,000 new posts.

Nearly 4,000 jobs have now been shed at HP in the UK over the past two years, with the figure now set to rise to nearly 6,000 by next April, Unite said.

Peter Skyte, Unite national officer, said staff morale had hit rock bottom following "quarter after quarter" of redundancy rounds. "It is becoming impossible for the workforce to work while they have an axe continuously over their heads," he said. "Morale has slumped and it is affecting productivity."

He added: "Lax employment protection in the UK compared to other European countries means that the UK is bearing the brunt of the cuts, as it's quicker and cheaper to sack UK people and export their jobs abroad."

The world's leading personal computer manufacturer announced in June plans to cut a further 9,000 jobs worldwide as it made a $1bn (£680m) investment in fully automated data centres, although the full impact on UK jobs was not known until Monday.

Mr Skyte said: "It's not exactly a recipe for efficiency and productivity. It's been nearly five months between the worldwide announcement and the [latest] UK one."

Unite refused to rule out strikes over the latest job cuts. HP staff who are members of the PCS union and working on government contracts walked out on a two-day strike in March this year in a row over job security and pay. Mr Skyte said: "All action will be considered including industrial action."

Alex Lock, an employment partner at Beachcroft law firm, said HP was acting within the law when it came to moving the jobs offshore. "Lots of companies are basically shipping off some parts of their basic workforce functions to countries like India and Africa."
He added the trend had "accelerated" during the recession as businesses were under pressure to cut costs. "You can get people there [overseas] to do essentially the same tasks, or provide the same technical facilities, but pay them a 10th of what you'd pay them over here."

Last year HP cut more than 700 jobs in the UK as part of a worldwide reduction of 5,700 workers. The job losses were on top of the company's previous plan to reduce its global headcount by 24,600 and shrink its wage bill by 5pc.

In a statement about the latest job cuts, the company said: "HP is in consultation with the appropriate representative bodies within the UK regarding potential workforce changes which were announced June 1st, 2010. This is an initiative to transform HP's enterprise services business to benefit clients through new offerings and improved service delivery."

Who is Léo Apotheker ?

2010-10-01T18:21:00.000-07:00

Wikipedia bio

HP bio

HP's curious choice

New HP CEO seen sharp but holds mixed record

And many more updates in comments such as :

Apotheker vs. Hurd: Who Makes More Money ?

Todd Bradley could be next but...

2010-09-30T02:38:00.000-07:00

Sources at FUMH indicates that Todd Bradley has already hired lawyers to start working on his compensation package. And guess what ? Trying to humanize his compensation, and tying it to the compensation of average folks at HP is what they’re working on.

The other big move would be to separate strategy from execution. Hurd was both CEO and Chairman of the board. Someone with more “vision,” would be put into that spot and Vyomesh Joshi could become the Chairman, with responsibility for the strategy of the company.

Bradley would like to offer a block of stock options to all employees. At around $40, the “Bradley Options,” could be a way to boost the anemic Hurd-level moral, and try to reward everyone for their sacrifices in keeping HP strong throughout the recession.

Todd Bradley HP official bio
Smartest Executive: Todd Bradley

Todd Bradley talks to CNBC (video)

Yes but....

Leading internal candidates include Todd Bradley, who leads HP's high-volume but low-margin PC division. He is viewed as a strong operational manager, but some board members are worried about his strategic vision, one source said.The source added that others were concerned because Hurd had been seen as major supporter of Bradley's, one of Hurd's first hires when he came onboard in 2005."

http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/HP-sought-two-IBM-execs-CEO-rsg-4175365170.html?x=0&.v=2

HP subsidiary on strike in Dublin

2010-09-28T07:46:00.000-07:00

Irish Times, 09/28

Workers at a HP subsidiary have begun the first of two 24-hour stoppages at the firm's plant in Co Dublin in a row over job security, redundancy terms and pay and conditions.

Engineers and technicians employed by HP Customer Delivery Systems say management at the company have refused to engage with the union representing them.

The 40 IBOA members at the Leixlip plant have been joined by other workers on the picket.

The workers provide maintenance services for a range of electronic equipment including bank ATM machines and point-of-sale devices in shops. They also maintain computer systems in a number of Government departments including the processing of social welfare cheques.

Irish Bank Officials' Association said management at the company signalled its intention to renege on an existing collective agreement and rejected a recent Labour Court recommendation urging HP CDS to engage in dialogue with the union.

The union was to stage a work stoppage at the beginning of August but when management signalled its intent to engage with them it was postponed. However in the following weeks these attempts "fell flat" as the talks were to be confined to a small group of workers a spokesman for the union said.

Staff have raised concerns over job security, redundancy terms, pay, possible transfer and redeployment, as well as the general management culture and issues relating to dignity and respect at work.

IBOA general secretary Larry Broderick said management has adopted a "wholly negative posture" to the situation. "IBOA has repeatedly indicated its willingness to negotiate but management has refused to enter into meaningful talks by rejecting the best efforts of the Labour Court and seeking to rescind previous agreements with the union.

"The stance taken by management in HP CDS is all the more surprising because IBOA has developed a constructive relationship with the management of the parent company, HP, on behalf of our members directly employed there," he added.

A second work stoppage will take place on Thursday unless meaningful negotiations begin in the meantime, the union added.

H.P.’s Blundering Board

2010-09-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

Best of article :

The Hewlett-Packard board is back to doing what it does best: shooting itself in the foot. By filing an embarrassing lawsuit against the company’s former chief executive, Mark V. Hurd, this week — a suit that unwittingly highlights the mistakes it made in the way it let Mr. Hurd go — the H.P. board can now lay claim, officially, to the title of the Most Inept Board in America.

...

Mr. Hurd got his $12.2 million 30 days after leaving H.P. On Sept. 6 — which is to say, the 31st day — Oracle announced that Mr. Hurd was joining Oracle as co-president, reporting to its founder and chief executive, Lawrence J. Ellison, well known in Silicon Valley as a corporate mischief-maker.

...

Let us acknowledge, before going any further, that Mr. Hurd does not appear to be a candidate for sainthood in this matter. This whole dustup began when Mr. Hurd was accused of sexual harassment by Jodie Fisher, the greeter in question. Although Mr. Hurd quickly paid to make the accusation go away — and although the two have denied having sex — it sure looks like something fishy was going on. You don’t keep someone off your expense account without a reason.

....

Thus, the central contention in the H.P. lawsuit — that Mr. Hurd will inevitably use his inside knowledge of H.P.’s hardware business to help his new employer — strikes me as quite plausible. How can he not? He’s spent the last five years eating, drinking and sleeping H.P. (Well, except when he was eating and drinking with Ms. Fisher.) H.P. is in his bones.

...

What I’ve been hearing this week is that the board felt it had no choice but to sue Mr. Hurd — both to put him on notice and to send a strong message to the rest of the company. But if this case gets laughed out of court, as I suspect it will, the message is going to be a bit different from what the board intends. The whole world will know Mr. Hurd walked away with $40 million of H.P. shareholders’ money, and joined a multibillion-dollar competitor with H.P. in its sights — and there wasn’t a thing H.P. could do to stop him. Confidence-inspiring, this ain’t.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/11/business/11nocera.html?_r=1

Sad day for Oracle employees. HP sues Hurd !

2010-09-06T23:31:00.000-07:00

"After having been chairman and CEO of the largest tech company in the world, it's a bit of come-down for Hurd to become co-president of Oracle. Does he have a promise from Ellison that he'll be CEO within a given period of time? Or was it simply too alluring for Hurd to get back to work and ensure that people would change the subject from his ignominious exit from HP? " (http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/09/07/the-larry-ellison-mark-hurd-and-safra-catz-show-at-oracle/?source=yahoo_quote)

Hurd Is Now a President at Oracle

H-P Sues Hurd After Oracle Appointment

Why H-P Buyback Is Bad News For The Economy

2010-08-31T01:51:00.000-07:00

Wall street Journal : the company said it will spend $10 billion buying its shares, which are languishing near the 52-week low. The timing defies the tendency of U.S. corporations to buy their own stock during the high points of the market and avoid buy backs during the troughs.

The latest buyback also is clearly a nod to investors who have endured months of turmoil, from CEO Mark Hurd’s surprise resignation to a bidding war for 3PAR, a relatively obscure network storage company. Concerns about a leadership void and concerns about overpaying for 3PAR have driven H-P shares down to yearly lows.

It is important to put the latest authorization into perspective. The $10 billion comes on top of $8 billion in buybacks authorized in November 2009. The total far exceeds the amount of money that the company has spent each year on M&A for the past nine years, excluding 2008, when the H-P spent $13 billion on Electronic Data Systems, according to data provider Dealogic. Also consider that the buybacks total 17% of H-P’s market capitalization. Investors, of course, love the buybacks. H-P shares are up 1.75%, while the broader market is down by nearly that amount.

But looking beyond the corporate parameters of H-P, the buyback arguably sends a dispiriting message about the state of technology industry and the overall economy. Consider that the buybacks come as H-P is spending increasingly less on Research and Development. In 2009, the company’s R&D budget was $2.8 billion, not much more than the the $2.3 billion it spent in 1998. As a percentage of revenue, the drop in R&D has been dramatic. R&D was 2.5% of revenue last year, compared with 6% of revenue in 1998.

To be sure, H-P’s revenues have expanded greatly over the past decade since it acquired Compaq and Electronic Data Services. Nonetheless, the fact that its R&D has not kept pace perhaps signals that a company, once known for its innovating prowess, is taking the easier route in keeping its shareholders happy.
As the recent bidding war for 3PAR illustrates, it is easier (and logical) to spend billions buying technology that others have created than spending that money on R&D that may or may not produce a viable product.
But that is not ideal for the broader economy, which benefits from the creation of new products to help it grow and create jobs.

Amid great economic uncertainty, H-P likely figures it can get more bang for its buck by focusing on the financial engineering of share buybacks than on the engineering of new technologies that made the company famous.

Never Discount the Grumbling Workers

2010-08-17T08:16:00.000-07:00

(Article : TheStreet.com. Image : http://fuckyoumarkhurd.com/)

Setting aside these more salacious details, I thought the most interesting new information came from Joe Nocera of The New York Times Friday. In his column, Nocera suggests the real reason Hurd was shunted aside was that he'd lost the trust and respect of the HP employees, and that charges of sexual harassment and inflated expenses merely masked that fact. Nocera illustrates this with some damning faint praise for Hurd from analysts and HP employees, both former and current:
"He was a cost-cutter who indulged himself."
"Mr. Hurd cares about one thing, how much money is in it for him. As an HP employee I see it every day. We don't have the tools to do our job, but he isn't doing without anything and doesn't care."
"He didn't have the support of his people. . . . he seemed to be the only one benefiting from HP's success"
"I was delighted to see Hurd go."
" . . . he lacks the moral character to be CEO."

I believe these latest revelations show board did lose trust in Hurd, thus providing reason to suggest he move on. However, I also believe Nocera has put his finger on a critical point: namely, the depth of HP employees' resentment toward Hurd for well over a year. About a year ago, for instance, I wrote about my belief that Hurd was not such a great CEO as what was portrayed by Wall Street analysts and investors -- and I remember being very surprised at the immediate and strong reaction I got from then-current HP employees. They were all united in their antipathy for Hurd.

They complained about how he'd cut the business to the bone but didn't have any ability to grow the company's revenues. They talked about his hypocrisy in forcing 5% across-the-board paycuts while doubling, tripling, or quadrupling senior executives' total compensation in the same year. Most of all, they complained of Hurd's total inability to connect with HP employees and a disregard for the vaunted "HP Way" of the past.

The comments and emails went on and on. Many pleaded with me not to share them publicly for fear of losing their jobs. Some of the comments I received for my most recent HP article, which published last Wednesday following Hurd's departure, further highlight the employees' sentiment:
"As a long-time HP employee, I have seen this incredible greed by our executives for some time while the employees have suffered income loss: loss of benefits and, more importantly, loss of jobs. There is no remnant of Bill and Dave's company left."
"Hurd did the same thing to HP that he did to NCR, a tech firm Hurd headed prior to his term at HP. He squeezes out profits in the short term at the expense of the long-term viability of the company. HP's IT information technology has been gutted, there is little to no growth in existing businesses, morale is terrible, teamwork is dead thanks to forced rankings, there is no innovation, and pretty much everything is outsourced.
"I agree there is nothing left of Bill and Dave's company. Working for them was such an inspiration. They were the epitome of humility and conservative frugality. They treated us so well and we were frugal too to repay them. Our management-development department worked hard to capture their style in our programs, to teach managers the "HP Way.'"

I remember chatting with some investors last year about these kinds of emails and comments. They immediately discounted them and defended Hurd. They said things such as:
"What do you expect from a bunch of workers? These are the whiners that Hurd probably already cut out of the business."
"Employees always complain. What matters is that Hurd's making the numbers. He delivers what he says he will."
"'The HP Way" -- who cares? That's not how business is run today. Fiorina should have whipped this company into shape, and Hurd finally went in there and did it."

I believe there's some truth both in the side of the employees and that of the analysts. But what's striking to me is just how easy it was -- before Hurd was forced out -- for outsiders to belittle the importance of employee satisfaction. Obviously people who comment on a story or email an author to complain are going to be the ones most upset about Hurd, and maybe there was a silent majority who thought he was doing just fine. For me, however, the quantity of strongly upset employees last year was a clear warning sign of trouble ahead for the company and for Hurd. You can't just stuff those kinds of feelings down for long without some problems cropping up down the road.

It's also interesting to reflect on the investors' comments now and see how quick they were to attribute HP's success to Hurd alone, and to discount the crucial nature of culture and of workers' feelings. I'm not saying all investors and analysts need to start holding hands and singing "Kumbaya" when they look at their price-to-earnings ratios. If nothing else, though, the HP affair shows that -- in this age multiple rounds of layoffs and real economic hardship that affects millions of workers -- investors need to examine the happiness of the remaining workers with the CEOs and senior executives who are leading them.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Never-Discount-the-Grumbling-tsmp-982139253.html?x=0&.v=1&.pf=family-home&mod=pf-family-home

HP Shouldn't Pay for Hurd's Mistakes

2010-08-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

" NEW YORK (TheStreet) --HP's ousted and disgraced Chairman and CEO Mark Hurd screwed up and investors have to pay for it. I don't get it.

Despite concluding that Hurd's conduct "displayed a profound lack of judgment", HP gave him a big-money sendoff to the tune of $12.2 million in severance payments, an extension of the deadline to cash in options on 775,000 HP shares, pro-rata vesting and settlement of 330,177 performance-based restricted stock units, settlement on December 11, 2010 of 15,853 time-based restricted stock and eligibility for continued group medical and dental coverage for up to 18 months., according to an SEC filing retrieved through EdgarOnline.

Why should a single dime come out of the bottom line? Why should a single share be awarded to someone who, in his own words, "did not live up to the standards and principles of trust, respect and integrity" that he demanded of others at HP?
Make no mistake, Hurd wasn't hurting for the money. As Eric Jackson pointed out in his recent column titled Mark Hurd's Excesses Were in Plain Sight, Hurd's total compensation for 2008 was $43 million, making him the fourth-highest-paid CEO that year.
HP's board may think it is fair to reward Hurd for the work he did to set the company back on the road to success -- and there are few who don't acknowledge that the company improved under his leadership -- but what about the damage to HP's reputation that Hurd also inflicted in the end?

The performance of a leader must be measured -- and rewarded -- based on more than the numbers. Integrity matters. Trust matters. We're talking about "violations of HP's Standards of Business Conduct" by the man who held ultimate responsibility for corporate conduct.
Hurd should have been fired, but the board on which he had served as chairman didn't have the stomach for it.
It may appear that the board took the high road by pushing Hurd out, but the severance agreement shows that old-school, nepotistic boardroom behavior is alive and well in America.
The message to investors is clear: The instinct among board members to look out for their own is stronger than their sense of duty to shareholders "

Jodie [Fisher] Will Likely Get 300,000 Thank You Notes’

2010-08-10T11:51:00.001-07:00

By Michael Corkery, Wall Street Journal

If ever there was a case of schadenfreude, it is on display by the employees, past and present, of Hewlett-Packard.
As one of worker put it, “we had an office party this Monday at HP HQ,’’ to celebrate the resignation of CEO Mark Hurd amid an expense account scandal. In short, dozens of readers identifying themselves as H-P employees or ex-employees have left comments on Deal Journal cheering Hurd’s resignation.

Hurd may have been beloved by Wall Street (H-P’s stock tumbled 8% on Monday, but rose more than fourfold during his five-year tenure at the H-P helm) but he wasn’t loved by everybody inside the technology giant where he had implemented draconian cost cuts, including laying off thousands of people.
“Many HP employees were dancing in the hallways today, the witch is dead. Morale was at an all-time low at lunch last Friday,’’ wrote one employee. “Jodie will likely get about 300,000 thank you notes.”
While expressing delight in his resignation, many objected to the “golden parachute” that will cushion the fall from grace. Hurd, who ranks among the top paid CEO’s in the nation, will walk away with about $28 million in severance and stock options.“If any employee was found fiddling with their expenses they would be marched out of the building and tossed into the street. No compensation. Why then should Hurd get any compensation?” asked one Deal Journal commenter.
There were some who called out Hurd’s apparent hypocrisy: A CEO who was ruthless in his efforts to cut expenses was accused of falsifying his own expense reports.
A reader identifying himself as Joe the engineer from HP wrote: Hurd’s employees left in droves (including me). The rest would have left when the economy got better… those that he didn’t fire, anyway. I love watching all this happen to him, couldn’t have happened to a better guy. Thanks Mark for making me take all that ethics training - looks like YOU were the one who needed it.
Judging from the comments, much of the animosity appeared to come from EDS, the software company that H-P acquired in 2008.
An ex-EDS employee writes: “God he deserved it. The way we (EDS ) employees were treated after the merger, was just terrible. HP made their numbers basically through the EDS division and we got rewarded with a 20% pay cut. Mark also took a pay cut on his base salary - note base salary not on his bonuses! I am glad that he will be using his bonus money to pay his lawyers.”
Of course, it is unclear whether such comments are a representative sampling of the H-P morale or the venting of a few disgruntled workers. But it is clear that Hurd didn’t inspire much love from some corners of the company.

H.P. Ousts Chief for Hiding Payments to "Friend"

2010-08-07T00:57:00.000-07:00

Yes !!!

"conflict of interest, failed to maintain accurate expense reports, and misused company assets".

"The woman’s lawyer contacted the company in late June, charging sexual harassment. While the directors were investigating that charge, they found inaccurate expense reports that covered payments made to the woman. The directors said, however, that the sexual harassment charge was unsubstantiated.

The board charged that Mr. Hurd, 53, failed to disclose his use of company funds. It urged Mr. Hurd to resign, but he balked and offered to compensate the company for the disputed funds, said to range from $1,000 to $20,000, according to a person close to Mr. Hurd who was briefed on the situation but was not authorized to speak publicly.
The board, however, insisted. “This was a necessary decision,” said Marc L. Andreessen, a venture capitalist and a director.
...
Mr. Holston also said Mr. Hurd used inaccurate expense reports to conceal the relationship with the woman. Mr. Hurd, who is married, has denied having a sexual relationship with the woman, according to the person briefed on the situation. Mr. Hurd declined comment.
Gloria Allred, the celebrity lawyer who has agreed to represent the woman, said, “We want to make clear that there was no affair and no intimate sexual relationship between our client and Mr. Hurd.” She declined to make the woman available for an interview or to identify her.
The company’s stock plummeted almost 10 percent on Friday on the news of Mr. Hurd, known for his straight-talking, analytical approach to business. Mr. Hurd rewired H.P. through layoffs, acquisitions and relentless cost-cutting measures.

The woman worked for H.P. between the fall of 2007 and the fall of 2009, having been hired by the office of the chief executive, the company said. Sources close to the company and familiar with the situation said that over a number of months, the contractor attended events for H.P. in Asia, Europe and the United States, and often dined alone with Mr. Hurd after the events. The contractor’s fees ranged from $1,000 to $5,000 for events in the United States and up to $10,000 for overseas ventures.

Even though the same contractor was present, Mr. Hurd said that he dined alone or with a different person on his expense reports, these people said.
A person briefed on this situation said Mr. Hurd had described the situation as “surreal and bizarre.” Mr. Hurd has denied any romantic context in the relationship with the contractor and talked about the board being swayed by the potential public relations problems that would follow accusations of sexual harassment.

Mr. Hurd, who was in the midst of contract negotiations with the board, did not file his own expenses, this person said. H.P.’s board and Mr. Hurd had, over the past month, been negotiating a new contract that would have had him earning $100 million over the next three years, according to a person briefed on the meetings. "

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/07/business/07hewlett.html?_r=1

Anger in UK.

2010-07-08T07:33:00.000-07:00

Network World

An announcement that HP will cut more than 900 jobs in the UK by October has prompted anger from the Unite union

HP has announced internally that 934 jobs will be axed in the UK by October.
According to Unite union, HP has a 16,500-strong workforce in the UK, which could also be affected by a further 1,000 job cuts from November, which the union said is a "proportional" part of the 9,000 job cuts worldwide that the company announced last month.

The union is planning to meet with HP in the next two weeks for negotiations.
In a statement, HP said: "[The proposed changes] were first discussed with the HP European Works Council in November 2009 and have been part of an ongoing consultation process since then." HP also said that the "proposed changes" were "part of the company's ongoing review of its business".

However, Unite said that the latest round of job cuts was particularly painful after seeing nearly 4,000 jobs being cut over the past two years since HP took over EDS. "This will create further insecurity and uncertainty in HP with the threat of yet more redundancies to come," said Peter Skyte, Unite national officer for IT and communications. "Our aim is to reduce and to avoid compulsory redundancies. The fact that the company still retains nearly 2,000 temporary staff and contractors merely adds insult to injury," he added.

Although Skyte said that it is "too early" to say whether the union members would go on strike in response to the job cuts, he did not rule out industrial action. In April, after a series of strikes and talks through the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) regarding a dispute over pay and redundancies, Public Commercial Services (PCS) union were in the process of finalising the details of a pay and redundancy offer for staff working on the Department for Work and Pensions contract. PCS was unable to provide a status update at the time of writing.
Meanwhile, Skyte warned that the job cuts at HP meant that that fewer people were having to do more work.

"Managers are concerned that they don't have enough people to do the work," he said, saying that work for clients, including Rolls Royce and the Ministry of Defence, could be affected.
Unite also said that workers at HP sites in Bracknell, Bristol, Hook, Erskine, Milton Keynes, London and Warrington are likely to be affected by the jobs cull. Last month, HP was forced to pay BSkyB a total of £318 million in full and final settlement of a high profile lawsuit over a failed CRM implementation by EDS ten years ago.

HP to move work to low-cost offshore locations

2010-06-24T07:31:00.000-07:00

IDG/Blooomberg and Businessweek

Hewlett-Packard's Enterprise Services business is counting on automation of its services and an expansion of its strategy to move work to low-cost offshore locations like India, to help cut costs and get more efficient, an executive of the company said on Wednesday.

The roll out of automation is also likely to be more efficient at the company's large offshore centers, said Robb Rasmussen, vice president and general manager for Best Shore Delivery of HP Enterprise Services on Wednesday.

"One of the most optimum places for automation is within an offshore location," Rasmussen said. The roll out of technology to automate a service, and the training of staff can be done more efficiently in these locations, as they have thousands of staff serving a large number of clients, he added. HP said earlier this month that it was cutting 9,000 jobs over three years as it restructures its enterprise services business and automates the services it offers enterprise customers.

Some other companies such as Dell have also said they are introducing automation to make their services more efficient. HP said it would invest US$1 billion in this connection, while also hiring 6,000 staff for the new services initiative, including some in services delivery.

In some offshore locations, including India, HP may however see net additions to the number of staff, Rasmussen said. The company is still hiring in India and some other offshore locations, and does not plan a reduction in staff in these countries, he added.

India is already the second largest location for HP's services business in terms of number of staff.
HP also has a majority-owned services subsidiary in Bangalore, called MphasiS, which became part of the company after its 2008 acquisition of Electronic Data Systems.

As its business grows, HP's enterprise services is having an increasing number of staff in offshore locations, Rasmussen said. The company has 14 offshore services centers across Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

Customers are increasingly opting for an "India plus one" offshore delivery model, which includes near-shore delivery from locations in the customer's time zone, in addition to delivery from India, he added.

Automation will further drive down costs, as key services like applications management will be done with fewer people, Rasmussen said.

Link to article : http://www.businessweek.com/idg/2010-06-23/hp-services-to-cut-costs-by-automation-and-offshore-delivery.html

H.P. Will Cut 9,000 Jobs

2010-06-03T08:25:00.000-07:00

HP announced Tuesday that it would cut 9,000 jobs (3678 in EMEA) and take a charge of about $1 billion over several years, as it consolidates and automates data centers. A.P.

During the same time period, H.P. will hire 6,000 new workers in sales and service delivery positions, said Jane McMillian, an H.P. spokeswoman. Under MArk Hurd, the company has shaved costs by regularly cutting large numbers of staff. In 2005, Mr. Hurd cut 15,300 jobs, in part by consolidating the data centers running the company’s own operations.

In 2008, after H.P. acquired Electronic Data Systems, it cut 7.5 percent of the company, or 25,000 people, and reduced the salaries of others by 20 percent in some cases. In May 2009, H.P. announced that it would cut 6,420 people.

Mark Fabbi, a vice president and analyst at Gartner, compared Hewlett’s data center division to factory floor during the Industrial Revolution. “In the Industrial Revolution, they put things on an assembly line and didn’t need those jobs anymore,” he said. “This is the same thing applied to H-P, a hundred years later.”

The company said it would record about half of the $1 billion charge in the third quarter and the rest by the end of fiscal 2013. The layoffs and $1 billion charge will result in savings of $500 million to $700 million a year, the company said.

HP criticized for earnings accounting

2010-06-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

Hewlett Packard Playing Games with Earnings CNBC, 06/2 , Herb Greenberg

First, housekeeping: Glad to be back!
Second: My inaugural "Herb on the Street" on CNBC (see video below) focused on whether Hewlett Packard is minding the earnings GAAP.

GAAP, of course, is generally accepted accounting principles. My beef: HP [HPQ 47.27 1.69 (+3.71%) ] presents itself to Wall Street as a non-GAAP company and has decided to exclude a $1 billion charge from non-GAAP earnings.

The issue of GAAP vs. non-GAAP is a longtime, simmering issue on Wall Street and it really gets down to this: Should investors view companies the way the companies want to be viewed or the way GAAP intended them to be viewed?

I say the latter, if the charges are not one-time in nature and are part of an ongoing restructuring/acquisitions strategy, which appears to be the case at HP. Acquisitions, in fact, are a stated part of HP's business strategy. (Note its recent deals to acquire Palm [PALM 5.71 0.05 (+0.88%) ] and 3Com.)

Some background:
* Two years ago, HP acquired EDS, the enterprise services company, for $13.5 billion.
* At the time the company said the deal would be accretive to GAAP earnings in 2010.
* Now the company is taking a $1 billion charge over a multi-year period, but only reporting that charge in GAAP results.

The result, in my opinion: Never mind that it appears EDS won't be GAAP accretive in 2010, it would appear that non-GAAP results will be artificially inflated.
Furthermore, it's easy to see why HP likes to keep the charges out of non-GAAP: Over the past three years, as the accompanying chart shows, non-GAAP earnings per share have beaten GAAP earnings per share.

I'm not the only person who has that view. On a conference call held by HP Monday to discuss a new strategy for its enterprise business, Sanford Bernstein analyst Toni Saccanoghi-who is generally known for asking the tough question-asked why the $1 billion charge would only be included in GAAP.

HP CFO Cathie Lesjak responded, saying, "While business charges in non-GAAP are typically more routine, routine rebalancing of activities and adjustments to changing business conditions. So this is really a structural change."

Perhaps, but as Saccanoghi responded in a note: "Given that HP's actions appear to be strategic in nature, we believe this could (and should) raise questions among investors. We note that HP has taken restructuring charges of more than $50 million in 10 out of the last 20 quarters (and restructuring charges of any magnitude in 17 out of the last 20 quarter) and this current charge may reinvigorate investor debate over HP's use of GAAP vs. non-GAAP earnings."
As well it should-and not just as it pertains to HP.

No. 1 Corporate Citizen !

2010-03-30T05:18:00.000-07:00

It's not a joke : Corporate Responsibility Magazine gives HP high marks in environment, human rights, employee relations, philanthropy, and more...

HP took the top spot in Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens list for 2010, rising from fifth place last year. The list is considered the preeminent of its kind.
“Global citizenship is in our DNA at HP. We hold ourselves to very high standards, so we are very pleased and honored to be recognized for our efforts, particularly by this respected source,” said Gabi Zedlmayer, vice president, Global Social Innovation.

Global citizenship is one of HP’s seven corporate objectives, rooted in the company’s founding values and key to success. While this recognition highlights HP’s most recent accomplishments, global citizenship has influenced how it has run its business for more than 70 years.
“Our work in this realm encompasses HP’s commitment to align our business goals with our impacts on society and the planet,” Zedlmayer continued. “We recognize that our actions can make very real differences in the quality of people’s lives around the world, and we will continue to work toward creating a legacy of real and lasting change.”

How the ranking is determined :

The 100 Best Corporate Citizens List is based on more than 360 data points of publicly available information in seven categories, weighted as follows:
Environment — 19.5%
Climate Change — 16.5%
Human Rights — 16%
Employee Relations — 19.5%
Governance — 7%
Philanthropy — 9%
Financial — 12.5%

HP faces strikes in England. Again !

2010-03-24T06:10:00.000-07:00

March 22 (Bloomberg and San Francisco Business Times)

The Public and Commercial Services Union said up to 1,000 members working for Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services will take a further four days of strike action in a dispute over pay and job security.

Workers at Hewlett-Packard Co. plants in the north of England plan for four days of strikes, starting next week. The Public and Commercial Services Union, based in London and representing some 300,000 members in the United Kingdom, said as many as 1,000 of its members will strike for four days at HP plants. Workers at some of the sites have already walked off the job for two days earlier this month.

Work stoppages are planned for March 29 and 30 and for April 6 and 7. They'll affect plants formerly run by Electronic Data Systems, which is now owned by HP. The plants are in Newcastle, Washington, Preston, Lytham St. Annes and Norcross.

"There has been growing anger amongst staff since HP took over EDS ... with 3,400 staff already axed across the UK. Staff have been further angered by the imposition of a pay freeze last year and for 2010 despite the company delivering record revenues worth billions of dollars," the union said. Mark Sewotka, the general secretary of the union, said employees at the HP plants felt "betrayed. "Hewlett-Packard bought Plano, Texas-based EDS in 2008 for $13.9 billion and laid off some 25,000 of its workers. Last September, HP renamed the unit HP Enterprise Services. Perennial presidential gadfly H. Ross Perot started EDS in 1962.

Major strike in UK

2010-01-21T13:30:00.000-08:00

Computerworld

More than 1,000 HP staff in the Public and Commercial Services Union are set to strike tomorrow after talks to resolve a dispute over pay and job cuts broke down. HP Enterprise Services workers taking part in the strike include those based in Newcastle, Washington, Preston and the Fylde Coast. The action will target four sites working mainly on IT contracts for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and General Motors.

The workers' complaint centres on a pay freeze imposed for this and next year, as well as on the 3,400 EDS staff who have been made redundant since HP took over the company in 2008, and the 1,000 job losses planned for the first half of this year. Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: "Strike action is not a step that our members take lightly. They have worked hard to help the company deliver fourth quarter revenues of $30.8 billion yet have been slapped in the face with job losses and a pay freeze for two years running." Jim Hanson, national officer at PCS, said that the main disagreement with HP's offer is over pay, with HP offering to only remove the pay freeze for two years, rather than permanently. Also, Hanson said that HP is refusing to recognise staff they hired directly as being part of the PCS talks, despite them also being members.

According to HP, 288 union members rejected the company's latest offer and voted to continue with the planned strike. "We are disappointed to confirm that a small number of employees have voted in favour of local industrial action on Friday. A reasonable offer was put on the table by HP, in response to the union's requests, however this was rejected without a counter offer being proposed by the union," HP said. "We will continue to maintain a dialogue with the union in an attempt to avoid any further form of action." The company also said that it has put a plan in place to deal with the impact of the strike action, including reducing non-urgent project work and moving resources to prioritise critical work.

In December, HP narrowly avoided a strike by PCS members by agreeing to sit down to talks at the eleventh hour. HP was then due to meet with the union on December 16 to try and reach a settlement for workers. Last week, HP averted nine strike days that were due to be undertaken by customer service engineers in its CDS business, by agreeing to a confidential deal on pay and pensions with trade unions. Computerworld UK understands that this agreement addressed some of the employee concerns around the potential scrapping of a £2,000 performance bonus scheme and a final salary pensions. However, neither HP nor the Unite trade union gave details of these discussions.

HP faces strike action in UK over pay and pensions

2009-12-12T07:44:00.000-08:00

V3.co.uk,

The UK's largest trade union Unite is balloting members working at HP on strike action after the company changed the status of some of its engineers and support specialists. The union announced the action over the company's planned changes in staffing rules, which would see 150 employees of HP IT services shifted to jobs at HP CDS, which would see them losing final salary pension schemes and performance benefits worth around £2,000.

"Our members face cuts to their pay and pensions and have no choice other than to begin an industrial action ballot. This is the latest in a series of attacks by the company on our members' pay and conditions, while senior executives and shareholders do very well indeed,' said Peter Skyte, a Unite national officer. "Unite remains willing to seek a resolution to this dispute with HP but not on the basis that one employee's pay cut results in a HP executive's pay and bonus increase.'

In its last financial report HP reported profits of £973 million for the quarter, and said that European demand was lower than any other major market. The company has already confirmed it is cutting some of its UK staff but hasn't confirmed numbers, although Unite expects 850 jobs to go. It has also cut back on staff at EDS and has repeatedly cut salaries for those staff still employedUnite has become increasingly active in the IT sphere, taking on IBM and Fujitsu over pensions and job losses.

If the ballot is successful it will be the first time HP has faced a British strike.

EDS staff voting on strike action in UK

2009-11-18T10:44:00.000-08:00

Computerworld : staff at EDS, who are now employed by HP, are voting in a strike ballot as they express their “anger” over upcoming job losses.

Most of the 1,000 staff, who are members of the PCS union, work on a series of IT contracts at the Department for Work and Pensions that are worth £3 billion and run until 2015. They work in locations around the UK, including Newcastle, Washington, Preston and the Fylde Coast, on areas including desktop and datacentre management, and application maintenance and support.

There had been “growing anger” among the staff since HP bought EDS in 2008, the union said. Their complaint centres on the 1,000 job losses planned for the first half of next year, as well as a pay freeze, a growing workload, and voluntary salary cuts. Some 3,400 staff have already been made redundant since the takeover.

The PCS ballot offers staff the chance to vote on a series of strikes of one or two days, as well as action that falls short of a strike. Staff have until 30 November to vote. Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: "There has been growing anger amongst staff who are facing yet more uncertainty about their future.” While employees had been “contributing significantly to HP’s revenue” and taking on more work, “their reward is more job cuts, imposed pay freezes and pleas from the company to take a voluntary pay cut”, he said.

Serwotka urged HP workers to tell their managers that “enough is enough". In a statement, HP said it “respects the rights of its employees” to be part of a union and would continue dialogue with the aim of avoiding a strike.

HP is facing a stike ballot on another front, regarding 150 of its service engineers, who mainly work from home and in the field. Those workers are complaining of a reduction of pay and benefits, and the result of their vote is expected in the next few days.

Elsewhere, rival Fujitsu narrowly avoided a three day stike last week, after the Unite union said there had been some progress in discussions on pay and job cuts. But the situation is not resolved and the union did not rule out further strike action.

Is there a Board ?

2009-09-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

TheStreet.com

Mark Hurd was brought in to take the helm at Hewlett-Packard in 2005. He's well regarded by Wall Street for turning the company from a bureaucratic has-been to a market leader again. In the first 2 1/2 years of Hurd's tenure as leader, HP's stock increased 137%. For the last two years, however, HP's stock performance has been mediocre, dropping 5%. Although that was better than the Nasdaq, it tracked that index very closely over that period

While Hurd deserves credit for turning this company around in the early part of his tenure by slashing costs and increasing focus, there are some very troubling aspects about how he, his management team and his board approach executive compensation and governance that suggest investors should steer clear of this Silicon Valley icon until it gets its act together.

Although HP's performance has hit the wall in the past two years, Hurd's pay -- and the pay of his management team members -- has dramatically increased. For 2008, Hurd's total compensation reached $43 million, which made him the fourth highest paid CEO in America for 2008. Hurd's total compensation increased 73% from his $25 million in 2007, even though HP's stock price declined 29% in 2008.

On his senior management team, the sharp compensation increases in 2008 were also noteworthy. CIO Randy Mott's total compensation went up 400% last year to $28 million. Imaging EVP VJ Joshi's total compensation jumped 83% to $22 million. Personal Systems EVP Todd Bradley's total compensation jumped 263% to $21 million. Technology Solutions' EVP Ann Livermore enjoyed a 31% bump in total compensation to $21 million. And CFO Catherine Lesjak got a 49% increase in total compensation to a more modest $6 million.

What also raises eyebrows about these sharp executive raises, aside from it happening in the face of a sharp stock price drop for the year (and the general market uncertainty which remained at the end of the year), is that 2008 was also a year in which these same leaders imposed mandatory 10% pay cuts for other executives and 5% cuts for the rest of HP's workforce. It hardly seems like this select group is shouldering the pain like the rest of the employees.

At Dell, the magnitude and the general direction of total compensation were far different than HP for 2008. Michael Dell's total comp dropped 9% in 2008 from the previous year to $2 million. Other senior executives on Dell's management team decreased or modestly increased to an average total compensation for the year of $9.5 million -- or less than half of what their HP counterparts took home for the year.

But what should be most rankling to HP shareholders -- and a very good reason to avoid the stock in the near term, as it speaks to the values by which this board and management team operate -- are the perks these executives are asking for and receiving from the board.For example, last year HP shareholders paid $7,472 for travel expenses related to Mark Hurd's family accompanying him to business meetings. Expenses for Hurd's security service roughly doubled to $256,000. Shareholders paid $500,000 combined in 2007 and 2008 for legal fees associated with bringing over CIO Randy Mott from arch-rival Dell. All senior executives availed themselves of about $18,000 worth of financial advice in 2008 (about four times the amount Dell senior executives received that same year).

Perhaps the biggest bonus for being an HP senior executive is getting access to the fleet of corporate jets for personal use. Shareholders forked over $136,000 for Mark Hurd's personal use of the aircraft in 2008. Todd Bradley's personal use of the aircraft cost $128,000 in 2008, which was actually down from $327,000 worth of personal travel in 2007.
HP explains in its proxy filing that for "purposes of reporting the value of such personal usage in this table, HP uses data provided by an outside firm to calculate the hourly cost of operating each type of aircraft. These costs include the cost of fuel, maintenance, landing and parking fees, crew and catering and supplies."

I think it's completely unacceptable for shareholders to pay for this personal use perk. However, this explanation left me with more questions about these numbers. Who is this outside firm that provided this estimated hourly cost? What in fact was the hourly cost? How do shareholders know that the hourly cost was a fair market rate? Finally, what were these personal trips?I'm not even sure how it's possible for Todd Bradley to have racked up $327,000 worth of personal travel in 2007. Did he have time to show up for work that year? Call me a conspiracy theorist but isn't it possible that this outside firm vastly under-stated the actual (fair market) hourly cost of using these aircraft for personal use? How will shareholders actually know unless the company releases the flight logs and numbers ?

Dell and his senior executives charged no personal use of their aircraft to its shareholders.A later footnote in the proxy filing for Hurd's personal travel says that the first 25 hours of personal travel are included and are "grossed up." Hurd owes taxes on the value of that perk, but HP's board has decided that HP shareholders should pay Hurd's taxes instead of Hurd.The same footnote later says that if Hurd's spouse is "requested by HP" to travel with Hurd, then the company "grosses up" that amount, too. The internal process that goes on in determining the company request is not described. It could be as simple as Mark Hurd leaning over and saying to his assistant: "I'd like to go play golf in Hawaii this weekend with the CEO of one of our clients on business. Can you write me a quick email saying that, on behalf of HP, you're requesting that my wife fly with me?"

And don't forget the minor scandal the erupted last January, when blogger Michelle Leder of Footnoted noticed that HP had "grossed up" Hurd $79,814 for taxes he paid on meals involving his family. (Ann Livermore and VJ Joshi also got "grossed up" $10,000 apiece for meals with their families.)

Michelle estimated that, to receive a "gross-up" of this amount, Hurd and his family would have had to run up food bills during the year of more than $243,000. HP protested, saying it had made an error in its calculations and even refiled its proxy with the SEC. Magically, Hurd's "gross-ups" for his family meals shrunk to $3,285. HP's error and refiling could have simply been a decision on its part, based on the angry reaction of employees and shareholders, for Hurd and all executives to simply cover these meals and their taxes themselves. Let's face it: It wouldn't have been a hardship for any of them based on their compensation last year.I don't mind pay for performance. I do mind pay for non-performance and I mind perks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And in a year of across the board pay cuts? Where is their shame?The board is equally or more to blame of course. After all, they approved all this. I was particularly surprised to note that Ken Thompson has served on the HP board for three years now.

Thompson is one of the most disgraced CEOs coming out of the financial crisis.He ended up destroying the fifth largest bank in America, Wachovia, by pushing it heavily into the area of subprime mortgages. When you destroy a company with $8 billion in annual profits, you shouldn't have the right to continue serving as a director and get $300,000 a year for doing so.
It was announced last week that Web pioneer Marc Andreesen would join HP's board. I hope he can help reform the company's governance, but I don't think it's likely. In 2006, Andreesen sold his company Opsware to HP for $1.6 billion -- making him indirectly beholden to Hurd and the rest of the board for his payday. That means Andreesen will likely be another voice around the table tacitly approving whatever Hurd wants to do and pay himself.

Disclosure: At the time of publication, Jackson did not hold any positions in the companies mentioned.

HP's Salary Cuts Forcing Out EDS Employees in the US

2009-08-06T02:27:00.000-07:00

"...Employees were prepared for salary cuts between 2 1/2 percent to 5 percent. Last Feburary, former EDS employees had their salaries sliced by hp by 2 1/2 percent. In April, more cuts with salaries slashed another 10 percent, that 10 percent figure was restored a month later but the email received by the employee this time indicates nothing surgical in the wage cut.

"My pay is being reduced a total of 29 percent, 20 percent effected Sept. 1, the additional 9 percent effective Sept. 1, 2010," the man said. That's nearly a 32 percent salary cut for one employee in two years time -- more than one-third of his base salary. The cuts push him back to the salary he earned working the same job in the same building more than 10 years ago. Other former EDS employees said that under Hewlett Packard, they've experienced salary cuts of between 10 percent and 47 percent.

A spokesperson for Hewlett Packard said not all former EDS employees face wage cuts and that the salary realignment," enables hp to effectively drive its pay for performance strategy with a consistent job-based foundation for rewards, development and organization planning," said an hp spokesperson...."

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/tech/HPs-Huge-Salary-Cuts-Forcing-Out-Old-EDS-Employees-52485672.html

See also : EDS workers face more pay cuts

HP/EDS management cannot muzzle workers’ representatives

2009-07-15T04:07:00.000-07:00

UNI-Europa and EMF members in HP/EDS are extremely concerned about the management’s attempt to take advantage of the current crisis to undertake offshoring to low-cost countries.

The new EWC Directive strengthens communication between EWC members and the workers they represent. HP/EDS management claims that dialogue with the EWC is indeed a priority and that it respects the applicable laws with regard to information and consultation of workers. In reality however, the workers’ representatives in the EWC cannot exercise their representative functions since they are denied the right to report back to the workers they represent. It is clear that HP/EDS management is simply paying lip service to the Directive and this is totally unacceptable to the UNI-Europa and EMF trade union representatives who gathered in Brussels recently.

HP/EDS management is not willing to develop a constructive social dialogue at European or national levels. There has been much evidence from different countries in recent weeks to show that it is only prepared to enter discussions when trade unions start taking legal steps or mobilising workers. This attitude is really regrettable and leads to frustration and anger among the European workforce.

They stress that the company’s growth is no longer geared to R&D or an innovative industrial strategy, which again puts the long-term viability of HP/EDS at stake.

UNI-Europa and EMF will again approach central management, urging it to allow workers’ representatives to effectively fulfil their duties towards the workers they represent and ensure effective information and consultation processes.

The two organisations will ask the EU Commission to investigate this case further. European trade union coordination will evidently be maintained and further protest actions will be envisaged.

_________
Press 28/2009
The 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

HP cuts salaries

2009-06-18T12:40:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-04T23:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-04T04:58:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-01T07:38:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-05-27T10:45:00.000-07:00

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

Another 6,400 workers to lose jobs at HP

2009-05-19T15:35:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-08T00:40:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2009-04-01T11:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-22T10:21:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-21T10:49:00.000-07:00

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 !

2009-03-06T02:36:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-16T12:49:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-11T05:28:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-01-21T02:43:00.000-08:00

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 !

2008-11-28T08:39:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-13T09:38:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-07T06:02:00.000-08:00

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

2008-10-23T07:42:00.000-07:00

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)

2008-09-26T14:20:00.000-07:00

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)

2008-09-26T05:03:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-15T21:56:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-09T07:01:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-20T14:35:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-14T12:43:00.000-07:00

"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

2008-05-13T10:44:00.001-07:00

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

2008-02-19T05:30:00.000-08:00

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'

2008-02-09T09:48:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-30T10:24:00.000-08:00

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 ? "

2008-01-24T10:21:00.000-08:00

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

Businessperson of the Year !

2008-01-08T06:16:00.000-08:00

Business Week names Mark Hurd Business Person of the year !

An Open Letter to the Director of HP Corporate Human Resources

2007-12-21T07:29:00.000-08:00

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"

2007-12-08T03:05:00.000-08:00

"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

2007-11-19T13:37:00.001-08:00

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

2007-10-09T09:03:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-09-11T02:13:00.000-07:00

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 $ !!!

2007-09-04T12:14:00.000-07:00

Reporters, Family Sue HP in Spy Scheme

2007-08-16T05:49:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-29T14:01:00.000-07:00

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...

2007-05-30T00:33:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

"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

2007-05-08T11:51:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-22T02:15:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

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 ?

2007-03-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-01T06:03:00.000-08:00

Hewlett-Packard phasing out US pension plan

2007-02-26T09:40:00.000-08:00

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 ?

2007-02-16T08:15:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-12T13:45:00.000-08:00

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 !

2007-01-27T03:48:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-25T13:28:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-23T08:49:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-22T08:44:00.000-08:00

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

2006-12-13T08:23:00.000-08:00

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

2006-12-08T12:35:00.000-08:00

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.

2006-11-29T11:32:00.000-08:00

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...

2006-11-19T13:19:00.000-08:00

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

2006-11-18T07:48:00.000-08:00

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

2006-11-09T22:26:00.000-08:00

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 ?

2006-11-04T07:29:00.000-08:00

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...

2006-10-31T08:31:00.000-08:00

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
- Athletic or sports clothing
- 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

2006-10-21T03:25:00.000-07:00

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...

2006-10-06T13:32:00.000-07:00

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 !

2006-09-22T03:40:00.000-07:00

An open letter to Mark Hurd, click here !