

HP's Huge Salary Cuts Forcing Out Old EDS Employees - veteran
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/tech/HPs-Huge-Salary-Cuts-Forcing-Out-Old-EDS-Employees-52485672.html

======
zandorg
This is an ideal time for me to post my recent blog post...

"The Grad from HP"

I remember, in my first year at University, I went to a talk in the business
school, where a guy, a graduate from this University who was giving a talk to
us, told us he had got a job (management I think) with HP after graduating.
All well and good, until...

He pointed to a chart, and said HP has profits of 60 billion dollars.

Profits? Shouldn't that be revenues? Is this guy barely competent?

It was then that I realised why the world of technology is so fucked up - it's
suit guys like this guy, who don't know a damn thing!

------
gaius
Gotta wonder what HP's thinking here. Laying people off is one thing, but you
can do it cleanly. Put together a decent severance package, ask for
volunteers, it's all over and you can draw a line under it (until next time,
anyway, but even so: if people know they'll be looked after, the organization
copes). I don't see EDS recovering from this.

------
mrbgty
The execs at HP think that you should run a technology company like you would
a WalMart.

They'll get some short term profits with their cost cutting but the revenue is
dropping with it.

~~~
gaius
It's worth remembering that the part of HP that everyone respected was spun
off and is now called Agilent. The new HP wants to be an IT services company.
Which makes this all the more bizarre.

------
maxharris
Well, these EDS old-timers can always look elsewhere for more pay. They're not
slaves, you know?

My guess is that they're lucky to have their jobs at all, given current
economic circumstances.

~~~
flatline
After working there for 12-20 years they may have more invested in the company
than just punching a time clock each day. 20 years is actually a pretty full
career. So, are EDS employees being treated as second class citizens due to
being outsiders who were later acquired, or are the cuts equal across the
board or proportional to performance?

------
daniel-cussen
It makes more sense to slash salaries than to lay people off. Sure it blows,
but if you can't find a job anywhere else, it's because the economy thinks you
are no longer worth what you were paid.

~~~
joez
See Netflix Culture: <http://www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664>

It's about doing the right thing. But this article is not about slashing
salaries instead of laying people off. It's about the bush league moves of
forcing people out through salary reductions than lay offs.

Another reason is a more technical one, mass lay offs are accounted for
differently than slashing salaries. You can book the severance and associated
costs with mass terminations as "restructuring" which hits your P&L as a below
the (profit) line cost.

~~~
icefox
So the type of people who will jump ship first are the really good ones who
can easily get jobs elsewhere leaving behind those who couldn't find
replacement jobs. Sounds like a sure fire win plan.

