HP’s CEO, Mark Hurd announced, on the 20th February that he would be implementing a company wide cut in pay for all employees. Starting with a reduction in his own salary by 20%, followed by senior executives who would take a drop between ten and fifteen percent, regular employees 5 percent and exempt employees 2.5 percent. All this in reaction to a 13.5 percent fall in the company’s first quarter profit.
Now, before I’m accused of making disparaging comments about HP let me just state that I have no issue with HP products and services which are top notch, largely due to the quality of HP people (their most valuable asset). This post is my opinion only, and one I’m entitled to.
Let’s look at this in a little more detail. On face value it would seem that Mark Hurd’s decision was an expedient one and he’s backed it up with the kind of corporate eloquence (read smoke and mirrors) that we’ve become used to from him, it’s anything but that, to me it smacks of opportunism, pandering to investors and market analysts, and cold hard manipulation at a time when we need CEO’s to have the courage to do the exact opposite, and, when we are demanding as much social accountability for their action as they have to investors and Wall Street (now a dirty word) for profit.
Since when has making 1.9 Billion dollars nett profit in a little over 12 weeks been a legitimate excuse to cut the salaries of hundreds of thousands of people world wide? I would suggest never in a million years, Mark Hurd has revealed his true colors with this one.
First we need to put Mark Hurd’s 20% salary cut into perspective, remember he is only taking a cut to his base salary ($1,450,000) which amounts to a $290,000 drop. Seems quite reasonable until you examine the following, publicly available, information.
- Mark Hurd’s total compensation in 2008 was $42,514,524
- His compensation in fiscal year 2007 was $25,253,461 – so, by my calculations a 68% increase in the total package from 2007 to 2008.
- He also exercised $10 million worth of stock options and had $15.7 million worth of HP stock vest during the 2008 period
- His compensation package includes approximately $738,000 worth of additional compensation;
- Personal and home security – $256,000
- Personal use of HP’s corporate jet – $135,734 (you have to love that don’t you?)
- $71,000 in mortgage subsidy he is guaranteed for relocation expenses under his employment agreement.
So, the question is; what’s the significance of his stated 20% cut in base salary? I would suggest next to nothing.
You would have to assume that this situation is not much different for the senior executives who are taking smaller cuts
- Ann M. Livermore, Executive Vice President, Technology Solutions Group. Total compensation of $15,675,274 in 2007, $20,551,493 in 2008, a 31% increase in total compensation. For her a 15% cut in base pay ($820,000) would be $123,000 or 0.59 % of her total package.
- R. Todd Bradley, Executive Vice President, Personal Systems Group. Total Compensation of $7,674,083 in 2007, $21,058,092 in 2008, a 174% increase in total compensation. For him a 15% cut in base pay ($820,000) would be $123,000 or 0.58% of his total package.
- Vyomesh I. Joshi, Executive Vice President, Imaging and Printing Group. Total compensation of $12,032,204 in 2007, $21,804,726 in 2008, an 81% increase in total compensation. For him a 15% cut in base pay ($820,000) would be $123,000 or 0.56% of his total package
- Randall D. Mott, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Total compensation of $7,390,948 in 2007, $28,293,134 in 2008, a 282% increase in total compensation. For him a 15% cut in base pay ($690,000) would be $103,500 or 0.36% of his total package.
- Catherine A. Lesjak, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. total compensation of $3,741,201 in 2007, $5,552,356 in 2008, a 48% increase in total compensation. Fo her a 15% cut in base pay ($625,000) would be $93,750 or 1.68% of her total package.
Put bluntly, 6 people at the top of the HP pyramid accounted for $142,774,325 in compensation in 2008 alone. That is an obscene amount of money.
To be fair, and before we contrast this with the HP employee, we have to acknowledge that HP has, under Mark Hurd’s leadership and at least fiscally, performed very well. In his three years on the job sales have increased by $30 billion and profits have tripled. 2008 was a stellar year for the company. HP is now the world’s biggest computer manufacturer. But, at what cost?
Let’s look at the plight of the HP employee. The first thing we have to consider is that, unlike Mark Hurd, a 5% cut in salary is in fact a 5% cut in total compensation. Someone on a salary of $65,000 would be losing $3250 per year before tax, or $270.00 per month. Some would say this is a small price to pay for keeping your job but I think holding that gun to an employee’s head is outright exploitation and can not be condoned, especially when they have already been exploited enough for the sake of high profit margins and Mark Hurd’s stellar career performance. Ask a majority of HP employees about their current remuneration and you will be lifting a rock that you don’t want to look under, specifically;
- Employees have seen the real value of their salaries diminishing with the rising cost of living since Mark Hurd came on board and even under his predecessor. There are no automatic adjustments for cost of living in HP’s yearly remuneration review (even though the smoke and mirrors will be employed amazingly to suggest HP is paying market competitive salaries).
- With few exceptions most HP employees have not had a pay rise, or anything other than a measly token gesture, in the past three years despite their workload, and the company profit, increasing significantly.
- HP Employees who are promoted into new roles with higher accountability, more work and more stress do not receive an immediate remuneration increase in line with the new position. Instead they have to wait for the yearly review which more often than not sees them bitterly disappointed. If you are employed into a new role in February you will wait until the end of the year for your remuneration review, the company will exploit you for nine months at least prior to that and then your remuneration will be determined by a simple algorithm on a spreadsheet that coldly spits out a figure you will definitely be unhappy with.
- The much touted company performance bonus has the bar set just high enough that it’s only had two significant payouts in more than 5 years. It never makes up for the HP employee’s loss in real wages.
Am I the only one who thinks it’s time for this to stop? Aren’t the employees the public face of the company, the ones who deliver the services, the ingenious inventors and developers?
In his address to the company Mark Hurd said;
In an environment like this, there’s no margin for error and no tolerance for inaction. To give you a little insight into my world, after we report our earnings, we engage in a dialogue with analysts and investors. They’re going to ask what we’re doing in light of the current environment to right-size these businesses.
Well Mark Hurd, we’ve already had an insight into your $42 million dollar per anum, private use of the corporate jet, overpaid to a vulgar extreme world and frankly, something smells funny. In case you hadn’t noticed it the whole world is in recession. Governments all over the globe, and especially yours, are going into massive deficit to try and kick start their economies and preserve jobs. They are providing handouts of cash to stimulate spending and help us climb the ladder out of recession, the problem is people like you, and your MBA textbook approach to an “environment like this” (one I bet you’ve never seen), your totally myopic view that it’s all about analysts and investors, are simultaneously lowering the ladder down from the top. I’d suggest that there’s no longer any tolerance for the type of action you are taking.
The way I see it you have two possible answers to the question about right-sizing the business.
- The courageous option, the one that takes guts. You stand up and tell the investors “you know what, we’ve had an amazing period of growth, we’ve reaped billions of dollars profit out of the economy over the past few years, we’ve delivered a strong performance to our shareholders, and we’ve become the biggest computer company on the planet, but now it’s time to show some respect, to our employees, the lifeblood of the company, and the society’s around the world, who have allowed us the privilege to operate and become the company we are. To ensure that no HP employee finds his, or her, way on to the unemployment lines, has their home foreclosed, or has their capacity to contribute to the economy diminished in any way, as a result of company action, until such time as the economic cycle turns for the better. We know we can afford it (hell, we just made 1.9 billion profit in 12 weeks), it will just mean lowering our profit expectations for a short time.”
- The cowardly option, the one that puts you squarely at the bottom with the worst of the worst, your snout in the trough, and your pants down around your ankles. You cut headcount and reduce salaries.
Mr Hurd also said in his address;
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.
We’ll of course not, since you’ve come on board you’ve taken over 40,000 people out of the HP workforce already (and I’m sure that doesn’t account for the thousands of jobs you moved offshore, or the thousands of long term contractors you’ve shafted), you’re still right in the middle of taking 24,600 of those positions out from the EDS merger you started in September 2008. The HP workforce reduction machine rolls on, you probably don’t even have another 20,000 you can drop right now. More smoke and mirrors.
I’m willing to bet though that, 12 weeks from now, when the recession that will get worse before it gets better is biting harder into your massive profits (and your bonus), you’ll be marching those people out the door.
I wouldn’t be worried about questions about headcount from analysts and investors if I was you, I’d be more concerned about the astute investor who asks you “what are you going to do when your employees stand up and say enough is enough?” People power has toppled Governments, a disgruntled employee base has the potential to bring HP to it’s knees in days, surely that time bomb’s ticking.
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Hi Damian and Friends,
I am from India and was laid off about a year back from HP. I was in a department which was clueless as to what its role was to begin with. However, every one in the team had to excel in whatever was the flavor of the day to be out of DirtyMark’s view finder. In this background, everything was going well work performancewise. The trouble began the day I was asked to speak to the HR bigwig at my location and request a more challenging role. The HR bigwig at my place seemed to be a shady guy. I wasn’t exactly sure then as to whose side he was on. I was given about a month to explore various options on the HP online portal. Meanwhile my responsibilities were gradually shifted on to another bloke who was earning less than me. After about a month, the HR bigwig and some of my seniors started having motivation sessions (read dirty firing techniques) for me. The would, in the guise of helping me do a SWOT analysis to find the right role / dream job, demotivate me to such an extent that it started getting in to me. Some of these demotivating sessions would touch upon extremely personal topics like my spending habits or my hunger for management education. These sessions would alternate with some personal feel good meetings where in the seniors or the HR Bigwig would talk about the downturn of the economy, Mark’s blasted plan, how to get ahead in life, fate, their experience with personal setbacks, how this event would add more fire in my career, or just the way of life. This took a toll on my health and I started losing sleep, motivation and courage, literally. When it became amply clear that I wouldn’t get another role within HP anytime soon, it was put across to me that it was time for me to look for a role outside the organization, and that HP was being mighty generous in giving me some advance notice of 15 days on that. As my darned luck would have it, I couldn’t get one. The motivating sessions continued. Next, I was told that even HP needed to have an end date that I would have to honor. I was given another 15 days even then was made to take the darned online ethics course. Same result. On the D-day, I had to leave HP.
I am not the only one wronged by HP here in India, there were / are many more. It is just that they are having a few confused feelings – guilt, shame, hence not getting out of the closet, or they are more mature than me it that they would like to forget the past and focus on the future instead.
My two years of stint at HP had kind of conditioned my senses. I could’nt help but feel that I have lost some thing big – a big opportunity. Thankfully, I got a job in about a month, I came back to my senses in about 6 months. Had a tough time tough to unlearn whatever was drilled into me during the motivation sessions. The work is challenging and I have my room for creativity. I know what I am supposed to do, and I am consistently measured ONLY on those goals. Most importantly, I feel that my contributions are valued and wanted.
Though it has been an year now, I cannot help but feel like a vietnam veteran. Did I deserve this? Should I not do something about the vipers that caused me misery for some part of my life. Your blogs and the comments of fellow HP’ers is in line with what I am thinking and now I do not feel that I am the only one who feels that way.
I strongly feel something has to be done to curb this menace. Be it using Web 2.0 technologies or Unions or an amalgamation of both. It is not just about money, Mark Turd and his team and his extended cronies around the world are ending up ruining families. My another concern is that these venomous vipers will eventually move on to other organizations and spread the cancer. I would be damned if I did not try anything to stop this spread.
Lessons learnt:
Yes, outsourcing happens. But we end up working for the devil NOT God, you see. Hence what bad happens to you, also happens to us…eventually.
1) Just because a company has a mandatory online course on ethics doesn’t mean, the guyz at the top follow that. Ditto with laws of the land..whichever land.
2) In any organization, if you sense your fellow team mates being extremely guarded to the point of not transferring skills that might in turn cost them their job, start looking outside.
3) The HR is not your agony aunt. He is there to save money for Mark by firing you by hook or crook.
4) Just because you did the best job, you may not get a “K”, however, you might get a “boot”.
5) Managing an organization is NOT rocket science. Get your basics right first – listen to your employees and focus on your customers. I have no clue what Mark Hurd is doing.
6) Business magazines, newspapers and journals are becoming a joke now – with’em praising the 20% salary cut bullshit. Do those morons know who Aziz Premji from India is? Rely on real time sources like blogs & twitters.
7) Especially, don’t rely on help articles in those magazines on receiving pink slips. Those who advise haven’t got a pink slip in their lives. Their advise is like a virgin advising on right way to indulge in sex.
9) It amazes me as to how I was not aware about my rights as an HP employee. But as can be seen in other comments, it is a catch 22 situation. However, there are limitations as to what you can or cannot do as part of the system. Once outside the system, your statements lack credibility. Web 2.0 medium should help in promoting awareness of an employee’s rights and should act as a forum when these wrongs are bought to the notice of the world.
10) Look beyond the brand names. Yeah, HP is big. So is Google. But in this exciting world new ones are coming up. Don’t become so obsessed with HP that you turn a blind eye to newer better opportunities. I hear even the veteran lawyers at HP are getting into Big Apple’s team. Have you heard of WolframAlfa? Get over HP. Better still, for a change, give HP the boot. Say Adios Fuckers to Mark and his Cronies.
Best Wishes,
Count of Monte Cristo
I agree, outsourcing just spreads the rot further into societies where the alluring prospects of more opportunity and a better standard of living, often where none existed previously, come face to face with ugly American corporate greed.
Well said Count and lets hope some of your peers get the strength to speak up.
This doesn’t surprise me. I worked for a bully too so I fully understand what it can do to you. I ended up having councelling and am still on prozac.. In HP there are very few people you can trust. HR are most certainly not to be trusted. That probably goes for any corporate but especially in HP. I’m pleased to say that I now work for a good manager and am on the mend. That doesn’t mean I like HP. It just means I found somewhere safe from BS to rebuild my self esteme before I figure out what I want in life. One thing is for sure, I don’t want to work for or with sleaze bags like Mark Hurd and his dictatorship team. You are not alone. I wish you luck!
Not sure If I am doing the right thing. But I am trying to pay back in my own way. I have decided to blog my experiences at HellPay at http://dragonslayerontheedge.blogspot.com/
Damian, I am sure, is pain/needle in Turd’s you know where. I think this could be the next needle.
If everyone here could come with needles like these, Turd and his cronies will eventually have a way to use those 42 million dollars in their lifetime.
I was surprised that there were not many blogs on this issue. I am new at this sort of thing and hence, not sure how long my enthusiasm would last though. If this attracts a following, I might complete the whole story.
Regards,
Count of Monte Cristo AKA DragonSlayer
I am curious … has anyone been told that they cannot be redeployed when they are WFR’d and if so … what was the reason? There are some rumors that this is happening.
Yes, I was team leader then WFR’d myself. I was told to discourage redeployment discussions because it wasn’t going to happen.
Have been gone 10 weeks couldn’t be happier.
hi Fmr Aussie EDSer, did you get the WFR package? I heard the WFR package is shrinking to the extent of 1 year pay 1 week salary only. (previously if you work for 1 year, they will pay you 1 month salary) I even heard that the management will find any other excuse to terminate people so that they don’t need to pay WFR package. Those demoralizing rumors are discouraging people from concentrating on their day to day work.
One very obvious practice is that some management mandates individuals to submit detailed weekly report to managers. If you don’t write your report well, they can use this report against you, finding excuses that you did not meet the job expectation and fire you. Those greedy unethical corporate b*stards are crossing the lines!
I’ve seen this behaviour in IT. They set impossible goals and then nit pick on very minor issues. It’s very sly indeed. I could not make out whether it was a corporate mandate or just a nasty manager. I’ve also heard about the WFR pay being reduced and pensions being looked at as they are a liability. On the bright side. If there’s no good WFR $$$$’s then it makes quiting an attractive possibility for some. For others it gives Hurd an upper hand in the game of fear. We seem to be being led by bullying morons and they’ve got plenty of robots following their every word. I sometimes wonder whether it’s a corporation or a cult.
Yes, I did.
Yes, this is true. Apparently Hurd is pushing his team to ‘upgrade’ the organization but ensuring that those who get WFR’d are exited. He is also pushing his people to look externally to backfill some of the position…suggesting that those internal aren’t good enough.
My advice would be to take the WFR and run away from HP as fast as you can. Fortunately / unfortunately, HP is well regarded in the market place so having it on your resume will reflect well (little do they know). Second, getting laid off is now a dime in a dozen so your future employer wouldn’t blink twice to see that you got laid off. Lastly, if you live in the US, you can qualify for unemployment. Hey, you’ve been paying taxes, so leverage the benefit.
Hi all,
After Taking 7 AL (leaves) from the HP Emp as Mandatory) HP saved good amount of money, Now he is planning to remove 2 % HP Work Force.
what will be MARK next plan if the same thing continues in Q3 and Q4 ?
Regard’s
Lost@HP
more to come. expect some restructuring to take place. e.g. collapsing the inkjet and pc business. vj would leave and so would those who are in overlapping positions. this will translate to a lot of job loss / cost saves for the company. while this has been rumored for many years now, i suspect that it will happen soon. get ready folks…don’t let this surprise you. if you are sitting in a potential overlap position, warm up your cv / resume now.
This blog is getting more and more popular with ever increasing number of people voicing out their opinion everyday. So far already seeing 900++ posted comment from most HP employee over the world. Mark Hurd should seriously consider to listen to the so many unhappy voices around the world and reflect upon himself the selfish acts and undo his socially irresponsible acts if he still have some conscience.
I wonder how he get to sleep peacefully every night without feeling any guilty, how many job he slashes since he onboard HP and how much suffering the workers and their family who lost the job and still need to pay for bills.
Consider people like me who never ever post a single comment to any blog before, now I have already posted 3 comments to this blog alone because this is a great place to read and share some insights.
Damian, good job done.
I suspect Mark and his team see 944 comments as a small percentage of the workforce and therefore don’t worry that much. If more people post thier opinions and vote no perhaps that will send a message.
Beware of the silent majority as they are biding their time and enhancing their resume when the economy gets back on its feet. For now and its a bread and butter issue that they seem apathetic to whats going on as they have no where to turn to.
The question is are they working hard as they used to be? Are they making a difference at the customers or they just do it for the sake of completing a job and nothing more than that.
In time HP services will be just like any other company without that difference and customers will look for another vendor or squeeze the price out of HP as it does not offer anything better than its competitors. Most of the execs will retire soon anyway or leave for other companies when the picking is not that good at HP anymore.
There are acutually people at the company who scan the various websites to pick up comments and share them with the Executive Committee so do post to share your thoughts…plus, its therapeutic! That said, don’t dwell on the anger over HP, Hurd, etc. Life is precious…go and find happiness elsewhere.
Perhaps send my new post (see home page) viral via Twitter etc. then they wouldn’t have to waste so much time scanning websites.
Damian, You asked for an IBM article. Here is one I wrote for the Alliance@IBM web site http://www.endicottalliance.org/asibmweathersthestorm-leeconradnc.htm
Lee
I put a link to the IBM article on the right menu under the Groundswell category.
A new 2% WFR has been announced by Mark Hurd some days ago, seems to be not the end of cut off, intend to satisfy share older and analyst, even if all contribute to destroy confidence to the management, to the futur, and finally the consummation ability. The circle is over…
The Hurd greed goes on
Hurd announced the Q2 results: Year-over-year, non-GAAP operating profit was up 1% to $2.8 billion
Hurd told us that great companies and great people differentiate themselves in times like these. And that he want to personally thank all of us for doing that hard work for HP.
At the same time we could read in the press that he will lay off 2% more employees, which is ~ 6400 of us ww.
Burn in your mind in a time of billions of profit for HP: 24000 + 6400 people fired + 5% pay cut + other compensation & benefits cuts
Contractors in Boise are getting torn up. The Wipro teams have been shipped back to Bangalore. IPG is about to the Hurd Hammer somethign fierce. Rumor is a June 1 HP employee WFR’ing. There have been dozens and dozens of HP WFR’s going on for months (seems like a dozen every other Monday).
It would be interesting to start listing all the known WFRs that have taken place recently, and the number of people involved. I believe Boise was already heavily hit in the fall of 2008, and I’m sure there is a constant background attrition that no one is aware of. The sum of all these headcount reductions is probably huge, yet no one is aware of the overall figures.
As has been mentioned before, IBM workers are going through the same thing. Job cuts, offshoring, pay cuts. But we have an organization and web site that challenges IBM and brings employees together to fight for our interests. We have received some inquiries from EDS/HP workers on how to build an “Alliance” for EDS/HP employees. But unforunately not many of you are willing to give us your contact informationn so we can talk about how to do this. We understand the fear. We see it in IBM.
Feel free to call me:
Lee Conrad (607)7294571
or email ibmunionalliance@gmail.com
http://www.allianceibm.org
Names will be held in confidence.
There is a lot we can do but it takes you to step forward.
This blog article targets HP but it’s really about the behavior of corporate executives and in particular those in charge of large IT behemoths. I’d be happy to publish a similar article about IBM from a guest author if it’s well written.
My opinion, and this article, won’t change anything per se. Creating an employee alliance will, or should with enough numbers. Remember we are demanding ethics and balance from these executives, they will only really respond to sledgehammer democracy and you need to have clout to do that. Clout that comes from numbers that is.
I’d suggest sign up, otherwise your opinion will be just that.
http://www.unitetheunion.com/sectors/it__communications/unite_in_your_company/unite__hp-eds/cut_my_pay_no_way_-_april_200.aspx
Unite in the UK should be getting a flood of people to join up – pass it on. Anyone know if Ireland has a union that would be comparable?
HP Strike Week: 7th Sept to 11th Sept 2009
Let’s make it a 911 week for HP
First of all, Thanks Damian for this blog. Great opportunity to gather opinions of people around the world.
I am at EDS Germany since over 20 years now and never thought about joining a union before. But since last year I have learned one thing: The only way to counter act people like Hurd and their methods is strengthening the unions and fight for your rights. At EDS in Germany we are doing this since December 2008. In January 2008 less than 5% of the german EDS employees were member of a union. Because the wage negotiations for 2008 failed, many joined the unions (IG Metall and ver.di). When the HP/EDS merge was announced a second wave joined and when the numbers for the WFR were announced (1150 of 4200 in EDS-Germany; therefrom 840 alone from 2300 in EDS OS, more than 30%) a third wave of colleagues joined. In December the unions were strong enough to demand negotiations about:
1. A social collective agreement, including securing the future of existing sites
2. A collective agreement to secure existing working conditions
3. A pay increase for 2009
Until today we have had four warning strikes, including a visit of 700 EDSers (from southern locations) in Boeblingen (HP german headquarter); 500 EDSers (northern locations) in Ratingen on the same day and a demonstration (together with AVAYA-Employees who are also fighting against a WFR) with a flash mob at the CEBIT in Hannover
pictures: http://www.eds.dgb.de/bildergalerien/20090304_Hannover;
news-video (in german): http://www.hr-online.de/website/fernsehen/sendungen/video_archiv5300.jsp?key=standard_document_36498150&jmpage=1&type=v&rubrik=5300&jm=3&mediakey=fs/hessenschau/20090304_hs_protest_auf_cebit
All our demonstrations and warning strikes were almost ignored by the management, they still deny negotiations with the unions. But we are not giving up. There are signs they get nervous. There is no official number of how many german EDSers are unionized, but unions say it is well above 50% (I would say its more than 70%, but thats speculation) and good enough to take the next step. We have tried everything to avoid an escalation of this conflict, but now there is no other choice left: next week May 26th we will start a strike ballot. At least 75% of the union-members of EDS in Germany have to vote with “Yes” to legitimate a full strike. We hope to get a result over 90%. Hopefully a good result will impress the management and drive them into serious negotiations. It would be the best for everyone, the company, the employees and especially our customers. If EDS is still not willing to negotiate…we will go on a full strike at EDS OS in Germany. Even if we lose this and even if I lose my job as one of 1150 (Or 1700 adding the 550 german HPers that have to go), I still can look in the mirror and say “you have done what you could, you have tried everything”. Its a question of self-respect…a question of dignity too…I will not just surrender to fate…I will try to change it to a better.
Just complaining in a BLOG will not change anything. Don’t get me wrong, to state your thoughts and feelings about this situation is a good thing because it shows that there is a global anger about Hurds moves, BUT you also have to DO something. Organize yourself in unions, take action. Make this WFR expensive for HP/EDS. Maybe then the guys at the top will start to think.
So, to all you HP/EDSers out there, if you want to do something against the methods of Mark Hurd and his friends join a union, start your own fight or support us in ours if possible.
http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Blogs/UNI_HP_EDS.nsf
Thanks for your attention and time.
The pendulum begins to swing.
We got the email recently requesting us to agree to the wage cut. There has been a resounding ” I do not agree “. We are all now watching what the over paid exec’s are going to do next !
A message for Mr Gary We’re All In This Together Budzinsky.
If we’re all in this together when will we have one bonus scheme? One bonus scheme that doesn’t pay out millions to execs while paying little to nothing or nothing for the plebes? When will that be?
It’s rich saying that we are all in this together when clearly we are not.
Us plebes rely on our base salary to put food on the table. Why don’t you lay off that and cut the bonus this year. The bonus that most of us wont see anyway. While you’re at it why not arrive at one bonus scheme?!? That should say a few more $. Is it because you know VPB sucks?!?!?
I hope your bullying tactics bite you in the ass.
EMEA employees should see this as a green light to say No!
Thank you.
So Gary says we can’t afford to have class A and Class B citizens in HP!??
How can that be when 6 executives at the top of the HP food chain accounted for more than 142 million in salary in F’08.
The hypocrisy astounds me.
For those who heard the news today that 6400 work force hc will be cut (probably coming from EDS largely) and for those who consent to salary cut. You are not safe either…HP has lose most of her beauties. She is just like any big corporation, shareholders, #s, saving own hide…
SAD
I worked in the Solution Partners organization in the US which is part of PSG. I was placed on WFR last week, the basic reason given was positions were being eliminated to enhance profits of the company. HP of course just reported earnings of 2.8B for Q2. In my WFR package I recieved today there was a breakdown of positions that were elimated. In the US for all of PSG 495 people were placed on WFR last week. So while I know that last year it was said that 24,000 EDS positions would be eliminated it’s happening everywhere. Sadly in this environment even if one wanted and were to get an HP job I think you could loose it at the end of next quarter to enhance profits. Long gone are the days where employees are a company’s best asset.
I’ve just started my new job elsewhere for about 2 weeks. It’s kinda strange that at certain times, I actually miss HP! It could be environment, the mates whom I forged a good working relationship over the years, heck, might even be the canteen food.
Sure enough, no single job is perfect. But when I come back to read this blog again, I feel that my decision to leave HP was sound and valid.
I’ve seen Gary speak during a coffee talk in Singapore, sounded like quite an ok guy. Didn’t expect him to publicly voice out his witch hunt plans for the daring folks to said NO to pay cut.
Great blog and great work, Damian. I come back here regularly to read the comments and now it’s time I posted something of my own ….
I joined Compaq in ’99 just after the acquisition of DEC. Since we were hoovered up by Carly (it definitely didn’t feel like a “merger” from the Red Side!); morale, career development, payrises and rewards to name a few have eroded.
During “The Carly Years”, in our Managed Services department (under Ann Livermore) we were regularly told there was no money for training. Employees would only go onto external training courses if there was a gaping hole in knowledge AND it was a customer requirement. Employees don’t have careers at HP, they have jobs.
Steve Gill (UK&I manager) has already said that “if you want a payrise, then leave. Under Mark Hurd we have a variable performance bonus culture.”. As many HP past-and-present folks will know, this “bonus payout” is random and depends on so many variables lining up …. many of which you don’t have control over.
If you want the chance of a good bonus, then you need to attain the top “K” rating in the annual review. However, your line-manager is only allowed to give out a certain percentage of K’s. If everyone in his or her team has an absolutely outstanding performance in that year, then that manager has to somehow differentiate between God-like and superhuman.
E-awards for great work have been ditched. If you do a great piece of work, then you get a “well done!”, there is no other reward or recognition. Even long-term service awards are now just E-award points and no longer a browse through a gift catalogue for a clock or watch or engraved letter-opener ….
During the boom years, I had one payrise and this was just above the rate of inflation. In 2007, I received my first ever “K” rating for my annual review in December and I worked bloody hard to get it. I was thrilled-to-bits …. but there was no payrise and because HP Services had only made 400 trillion dollars a minute, the bonus payout was negligible.
I am saying “no” to the paycut. I have read about threats and underhand tactics, but I am saying “no” and sticking to “no” whilst also actively looking for alternative employment.
To all those who have left to forge new careers or have started out on their own, I wish you the very best of luck and good wishes in your ventures.
To those, like me, who remain at HP; stick to your guns and reject the paycuts. Fair enough, if our economies were in deflation AND we’d received acceptable year-on-year payrises during the boom years, then I might find it acceptable to take a paycut. But we didn’t …. or at least I didn’t and many who have commented here didn’t either.
Keep up the great work, Damian!
Me too! I’m saying NO too. What are they going to do? Fire me? I want out anyway so it would make my day.
HP has over 11 BILLION bucks in cash in the bank…and is laying off people by the thousands !
http://community.investopedia.com/news/IA/2009/Cash-Is-King-For-Two-Tech-Giants-IBM-HPQ-JAVA0515.aspx?partner=YahooSA
Here’s a brief exerpt from the article”
“Hewlett-Packard slides in at 14th on the list of great American cash-cows with a significant $11.255 billion in cash. The computer and printer giant recently considered purchasing Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq:JAVA), maker of the Java technology platform, but backed out of the deal when its terms couldn’t be met. The company is allegedly still on the hunt for an appropriate acquisition, and in the meantime, its shares have risen nearly 40% in less than two months. The stock trades for a mere 10.93 multiple of last year’s earnings and pays a nominal 0.91% dividend.”
There was a popular youtube video on hitler repeating the same story about the 5% pay cut. Basically the video is edited from a movie in german language but subtitles was changed to talk about Mark and the infamous 5% cut.
Unfortunately the video was removed recently. Video title is “Hilter got WFR’ed from HP”
Video created by user saint77, this is the link (but now video is removed for unknown reason, I guest HP is extremely upset with this video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqi-b9DScLM
Story line: Hitler sits in a room full of generals standing in front of his desk. One general, pointing at the map, updated hitler details of Mark Hurd excercising company wide pay cut, and another round of wfr is also coming. Hitler said his job is still safe (in a denial state), but general told him that he is in the wfr name list. In disbelief, Hitler take out his spectackle with a shaking hand, then ordered those of Mark Hurd supporter to leave the room. After the door closed, with few left, he start to shout and curse and swear and complain about Mark Hurd and etc etc… By then, many officers standing outside hitler room heard his shouts from the room. One female officer cried, her colleague told her, “dont worry, we still have our job”… (and the video continues…) This video is really fun to watch.
Since the video is removed (sad), you can view another version of how people use the same hitler video to make fun of bill gate of Microsoft. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gm2AojOHDw
I hope someone can revive the video and make it availale in the internet again so that it give some kick ass entertainment value to everyone.
Damian and All
I posted on this blog a few months ago and feel the need to post again. Gary Budzinski is the Hewlett Packard VP of the TSG group and he’s an amazing guy too.
On my previous post I highlighted how people who were encouraged to take a HP sponsored higher colege degree a few years ago by the HP management, and despite the signature of the “contract” and the financial approval and release, halfway through the college course (in the best of economic times: this was in the year 2007 not now) HP decided to stop reimbursing the agreed fees despite having signed the paper committing to the full financial release for the entire length of the course, leaving the employee with the option to cover the cost himself or pull out half way through. This in Europe is illegal, it is a breach of a contract when no other clauses saying that a party can pull out of the agreement any time, are included. Completely unlawful. Gary knew it, but apparently he was the mastermind for this illegal “cost saving exercise” and directed the lower management team to refuse refunding all subsequent claim requests even if they were budgeted and approved already.
Gary is anyway a tough guy and a tough HP manager and he’s above the law: he reinstated this only 3 days ago. He just announced publicly in front of thousands and thousands of employees last 12 May, that HP will find out who will refuse to take the pay cut and act consequently in the next performance review of each employee. Now this is a breach of about 31 to 35 EU privacy and confidentiality directives and laws, but apparently Gary does not care about it. All local HP Human Resources groups were very careful to make sure that they would announce the news but act in respect of the local law when communicating the facts about the pay cut, but here he comes Mr. Gary Budzinsky in a 30 seconds speech addressed to thousands of people he just candidly says that he doesn’t not care about the law, overriding all the work of HR in the last few months.
There was a upsurging over the last few days about his talk in various parts of Europe.
If you are still a HP employee , have a look at the recorded session
http://media.hp.com/program.aspx?key=051209HPTS
Go to the last part QA session and listen to it with your ears: in the second part when he talk about the labor law, before the talk is eventually removed from the site
Hopefully someone will post it to youtube soon
Watch the excerpt: in the second half of the QA session.
Gary says that we are in this (the pay cut) all together and HP cannot afford to have class A citizens and class B citizens: everyone must take a pay cut….but wait a minute…. what about the illegal refusal to refund the education fees as described above and all the other benefit cuts? Was it Ok back then to have class A citizens (the top management reaping millions) and the class B citizens, the bee workers being misleadingly, illegally and senselessly cut in some case against the law as explained? We are “in together” only when the result of the action benefits Gary ,Mark and their cronies, no other times.
You can see by yourself. In his speech Gary starts with a epic sentence, like the best of all the leaders, you would think he’s John Kennedy:
“…Let me say one thing: History repeats itself”,
but Gary probably does not realize that indeed history repeats itself: in fact he’s of the right age to remember Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling in 2001: wall street corporate gangsters sentenced to 25 years + in jail. Only a few months ago indeed history repeated itself after only 9 years: with Madoff as the new wall street gangster this time. Will Gary and Mark with all their cronies be writing history’s next chapter? They are on the right path to do so.
Sounds like Gary needs to find out he’s not above the law then eh, preferably the hard way? Sounds to me like HP has modeled it’s vote on the Zimbabwe election process.
Gary is the Coca Cola whack job. He doesn’t seem very bright either. I suspect he was put in this job to shepherd through the EDS acquistion. He mentioned that EDS was mainly about legacy business. So why buy them?
I think what we are seeing here is a legal version of Enron.
I also recall that comment on the folks that refused to take the pay cut. It’s time for people to start lawyering up.
Budzinski falls into the same category as the Turd himself: arrogant, calculating bastard with a small wiener. He’s also the “king of outsourcing and offshoring”:, if you look into his past:
http://www.issg.net/pdf/InsideOutsourcing_v3i2_GaryBudzinski.pdf
Those are the kinds of people running the company today.
We could have hired a monkey to do his job…for a lot less.
Pigs R They is spot on.
I saw the video this morning but, seen that, I must say that it’s widely accepted among most employees that Gary Budzinski wouldn’t be the brightest head in the HP realm. His bullying techniques are more likely to damage himself in the long run, than scare the employees to take the action that he’s trying to force (illegaly) upon them.
As we say in Ireland, he wouldn’t be the sharpest item in the toolbox.
I’m sure Mark Hurd has already scolded him for being so naive, and for saying such things that should not be said in public, like a father would to a 6 years old son.
More disgusting conversation today in HP about how we’d “better sign up” or there would be “consequences”, particularly for management. Damn them all – see the article Toppling the Corporate Aristocracy that is already on Damian’s site – I’ve just donated some money to these guys – they have got it in a nutshell. We, as a democratic people, are being sold out to the top few % of filthy rich. It is anti-democratic in the extreme. Grow some kahunas on behalf of your children and future generations – vote, contribute and push for a move to the democratic left. I hate communism, I love democracy. That filthy silver-spooned aristocrat Mark Hurd is an obscenity in a liberal democratic society; we essentially enslave the next generation of decent, average citizens to a form of “wealthism” and enslavement by voting for this abhorrent pay cut. We fuel the rampant greed that usurps our rights and entitlements. We weaken and undermine society. Friends, professionals and hard working people – think not only of your own safety – this “NO” vote is a powerful statement of the unacceptability inherent in corporate greed from the new aristocrats. I repeat, you are voting for the future of the decent majority here – it would be a tragedy to underestimate your power in this regard. God bless you all, and have courage.
FYI for current employees.
I Looked at the Gary Buttinski video and was appalled.
I escalated my concern to HR locally.
They could not find the offensive section.
I checked it again …………. MY ACCESS HAS BEEN REVOKED
I went back to HR … they still have access to the video
BUT IT HAS BEEN EDITED …… the Q&A section where smug, smartarsed boy proclaimed his illegal witch hunt ……….. HAS BEEN removed.
Some may say that he has been warned about breaking the law ……..MY OPINION ……… he was warned allright……..warned for letting the cat out of the bag.
Smell a Rat?
HP provides an Employee Assistance Program, or EAP, that offers free legal advice. Perhaps you should take the matter up with them if HR are no use. HR are unlikey to be any use as they’re the group that pass the kool aid out to everyone else in the first place. They’re hardly the voice of the workforce. Perhaps the video will make it’s way to wikileaks? Who knows? It’s difficult to say where it might end up.
do raise it with your manager and do make sure you use it to justify saying no. It’s bullying. I’d say there’s a good chance someone recorded this. 
How do they get away with this? Is there nobody in any authority that has read this blog, that can do something about this injustice. Companies in Western democracies should not be allowed to act in this manner. How will this help the US \ European economies if Global Giants like HP \ EDS making enourmous profits can demand and ok ask (in euroland) if required to cut wages. Its just ridiculous. If Q2 profits are enourmous again, then bring on a UK Gov select committee to look at this. Any UK MP’s out there read this?
Gary B – “We can’t have Class A and B citizens” thats rich coming from 8 Execs that pocketed 142 Million $ between them last year.
It’s a sad fact that HP, and in fact most large companies in Western democracies are not democratic at all. Very few managers in HP have any influence whatsoever, they are executing orders only and play no part in the decision process. The orders are coming from the guy at the top, the CEO and the chairman of the board (a dangerous combination) Mark Hurd, who is an aristocrat through and through.
Our unit in TS watched this replay last week after hearing about it. Sure enough he said he will be looking at who volunteers and who doesn’t and taking action at performance review time. The HR and corporate line has clearly been that there would be NO REPERCUSSIONS. This is a clear contradiction. We immediatly asked our manager about it. She was as stunned as we were. We asked how HP can now go ahead with the request when there CLEARLY ARE REPERCUSSIONS? If Gary is taking this stance, who else is? We suspect he’s not alone, he’s just the only one who communicated this on a web cast. Doh! Time to consult some lawyers. If anyone from the European Works Councel is reading this we would welcome some action before we are made to vote. It’s no longer a vote, it’s an opportunity for a witch hunt. Thanks Gary for confirming what we all suspected and recording it! PRICELESS! Hope you get fired!
Know what Paul… the Q&A session has disappear from the webcast…
Some one must have remind him about SBC….
I say Gary is in violation of SoBC. Deadline to complete the SoBC trainng is end May. So has Gary ever done his SoBC training? Did he passed that? If yes, something is wrong with the way HP’s Ethics. If a top executive themselves cannot uphold the STANDARD OF BUSINESS CONDUCT! How is HP going to tell the rest of the employees that HP management is above board!!
I wonder…… if there’s smoke there’s fire somewhere and its coming from the top!
I left in January but have followed this blog with keen interest. IMO Garys behaviour is harassment. He coercing people to vote yes. It is therefore a clear violation of the much touted SBC (standards of business conduct) and it is also illegal in Europe. I doubt that in practice the SBC applies to executives. Pity. Stick to your guns people vote NO. HP is still making huge profits.
Living in Canada, I just received my first paycheck with the 5% cut yesterday. A bit of a downer and I had no motivation to do any sort of work yesterday. Some of my coworkers who left already left for much higher salaries and all of them were less experienced. Makes me wonder why I didn’t jump on the bandwagon. Perhaps the HP name?
I think it’s time I pickup the bit of self-respect I have and make the move.
“Perhaps the HP name”. Yeah, good question.
The HP name is reaching it’s sell by date. I’m a near 20 year veteran and quite high ranking. I was aiming to stick it out until retirement age. Alas the PRUs won’t keep me any longer. I’ve reached the limit and am actively working on my own venture on HPs time. Staying at a company who treats it’s employees this bad is not fun. I refuse to sell my soul to these wasters. Customers would do well to keep a sharp eye on their service levels if u ask me. With morale as low as this, it can’t be good.
They’ve just cut the Canadian car plan as well, you must have 12000 BUSINESS kilometers per year to qualify for a car. Many people will lose their company car and HP expects them to pay for another vehicle to use to CONDUCT HP’S BUSINESS WITH…
There is no limit to the current insanity going on at HP right now. Everybody is worried at the next inevitable round of cuts to be announced at the end of the week at 5pm after the next earnings announcement shows that the company has again made well over a billion and a half dollars [or whatever we'll make] in profit in the last 12 difficult economic weeks.
Personally, as a Canadian EDS’r, I compensate myself for the 5% paycut by working on my personal stuff in Company time and doing the minimum necessary to get by while I actively look for another job. Why bother with a company that treats it’s employees like this while the CEO and a few top execs loot the company for all they can get away with.
The start of things on FaceBook: a French, union-based, group dedicated to fighting the cuts
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=59050353855&ref=nf
Of course, joining here in the US would probably be like writing your own pink slip, but it’s good to see there are still countries where you can take action like this.
Last weekend in singapore, a bunch of around 300 people got wfr’ed and was their last day. They just force to shift to a new building, now most of them are marched out by Mark.
Emotion is uncontrolled, and everyone is sad. I think it was the worst weekend ever for them.
I thought if they say YES to 5% cut, their job will be spared ??? Obviously it is not the case….
Today I learn that my department admin staff who is on contract basis, the contract is terminated. Last working day is next week. The other admin staff of other IT department also not spared, last day is end of the month.
I feel very sorry for you. One because of your colleagues being WFR’d and two because you actually believed that your vote would make any difference in how Mark Hurd would treat you. Trust me, he doesn’t care about you, never did, and never will.
This is a classic example of the advantage you provide him when you succumb to fear – the fear that voting no would cost you your job – you should always vote with your heart, for what you believe is right, not letting your fear get the better of you.
Easy for me I guess, I’m an ex employee already, but I stopped fearing being WFR’d long before it finally happened, and when it did I was so pleased to see the back of that place and walk straight into a career I created while I was there.
My advice to anyone is plan your life outside HP, make your plan so realistic that you are busting to get out of there, then operate fearlessly until you leave.
A few weeks ago, one of my ex colleague called..and he got wfred…and that’s not all…someone relatively inexperienced is replacing him…how funny it is when I learnt a few days ago that the new guy is not in, 2 days from his last working day, and strangely the system that he was supporting failed mysteriously too. I wonder how is the new guy gonna solve the problem..To me, service to the customer, and the good knowledge is all lost with my ex-colleague departure.
Needless to say, I am sure they are not going to meet the customer’s service level. Imagine the customer is not going to be pleased for extended down time, when an experienced hand could fixed the problem within the hour.
Things are developing in a very interesting way now.
Oh yeah. Replacing experienced people with unwashed newbie is a common HP practice I have seen from few years ago. The benefit is that the newbie is much more cheaper than the experienced people who left. Newbie is very obedient and willing to learn and do anything.
The problem here is that the newbie is taking over the same role and responsibility from the experienced people who left.
One major downsize is that they often screws up (sometimes screws up big), once they screw up, it may take many man hours for many other people to clean up the mess! (really, I witness that happening several times already)
There are a few things that concern me some of which are referred to above.
1. Virtually all the old EDS senior managers have been replaced by HP people – there only seems to be Bill Thomas left and I have a feeling his card is marked. Now I’m not saying that HP leaders will be any worse than EDS leaders at that level but it leads to my second point.
I have heard a quote from Mark Hurd that having less people doesn’t mean a lowering of client service and to a point he may be correct, but the numbers that are leaving my account (no 1 Govt account) is being noticed by our client and they are not happy – the ironic thing is many of the contracts come up for renewal next near and I think we will lose many of them because of these actions.
2. The problem is Mark Hurd and most (not all) of HP senior management are “box-shifters” and if someone ain’t around to shift a box it hardly gets noticed. If someone ain’t around to answer a client call … well you guess what happens …. oh and by the way Mr Client I can’t come and meet with you to explain why no-one answered your call because it’s not a sales call and you won’t pay my expenses. EVERY CLIENT CALL IS A SALES CALL … that’s what these guys just don’t get.
You’re absolutely right, perhaps the only group being treated worse than the employees are the Customers, but that’s what you get when the lunatic is running the asylum.
We ex-Digital, ex-Compaq people can sympathize with the plight of EDS. We call it “Not invented here syndrome”. Here being HP. We had tools and processes that were vastly superior to HP’s. They were killed eventually by either HP or Randy Mott’s attack on Shadow IT.
Regarding the customers:
We have a services VP who begins his ridiculous presentations by taking an long and over exaggerated sip of Coke.
Then he proceeds to tell us that he has been drinking coke since he was 10. He said its always been the same (It’s not) and that it is alwasy the same no matter where in the world he goes (It’s not). The point of this ridiculous demonstration is that he feels the HP experience should be the same everywhere. The same model fits everywhere. The same services should fit everywhere. They don’t. Customers are different.
HP doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the customers. We have a bunch of PMP certified MBAs that think up new processes to allow cost cutting. We have inferior technical staff all over the globe pissing customers off. Then we have highly paid escalation managers to cover shit up and promise the customer this will never happen again.
I would like to see a real spreadsheet that shows how much offshoring saves, then how much its ramifications cost. Stupid F’n Wall Street doesn’t seem to want to see the latter.
Basically you have a services VP who is clearly a wanker hell bent on reducing everything to the lowest common denominator then?
You got it. He came from EDS too. I have this conspiracy theory that he signed on with HP a few years ago to help get the aquisition go smoothly. HP is smart enough not to break the law, but they sure can bend it. This VP told us recently that we have to cut costs even more.
So the customers, of which many are really hurting (unlike hp), will be shelling out the same amount of money, or more, for even worse service. You can’t make this stuff up.
Wall Street seems to react badly when jobs are lost, but HP is encouraged by them to layoff, thus fueling the recession. How does that help Hurds “The Shareholders”.
NYT article about the Turd. Read the article and you know what kind of person this SOB is. Arrogant, self-centered, with a superiority complex and a small wiener. Should have stuck to Tennis.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/technology/companies/26hp.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
A quote from this article:
Mr. Hurd, however, contends that internal surveys provide a more accurate view of the company than scattered anecdotes and reveal a satisfied work force. The company’s strong, consistent financial performance has restored its luster as a Silicon Valley icon and imbued employees with pride, he says.
What planet is this guy on!!!
And here is another Customer related tale. As you are aware prior to the HP buyout EDS was hardware/software independent (well relatively anyway) so it could always go for the best price/value deal for its clients. Now all hardware and any available related software HAS to be purchased from HP.
A sensible rule you might think except that EDS rarely opted for HP hardware when an independent company – why do you think that is – two reasons – nearly always more expensive and even worse a longer lead time to delivery (I can’t comment on reliability).
Now our customer may be Civil Servants but even they ain’t that dumb. They say to us hey – how come we have to wait longer and pay more for our hardware?
Still no worries it’s only the taxpayer picking up the bill – I am glad I don’t work on one of the Private Sector accounts – boy they must be hopping.
Guess what – we are not allowed to say the reason is that we can only purchase from HP. In other words we are asked to lie to our customer. Many of us have long term trusting relationsships built up over many years (hell many of us actually transitioned over from the client). All this trust is being lost in the name of the short-term numbers game.
Again a short-term jump in numbers for a possible loss of a £1 BILLION (yes – that’s right) contract because our service levels drop.
Can we rally enough troops to do a company wide strike, if everyone walks out for a week they couldnt punish all of us. It would hammer the business and make a statement.
Secondly, what about a Union, can we not start a petition to bring in a Union to support us?
I have mixed feelings about Unions, when push comes to shove they typically bring their own unique blend of power, subsequent corruption, and strikes tend to have unpredictable outcomes and are illegal in many countries. Personally I believe that if the emphasis is on the shareholder then we should be using the significant power and rapid dissemination of social media like twitter, blogs etc. to make our opinions known. Don’t rely on the press to do it, it’s totally compromised by it’s corporate owners.
Remember if you stick to publicly available fact, don’t contravene company confidentiality policy, and don’t defame anyone, you have an absolute right to freedom of speech (or in the good old USA I think you still do – but that’s another issue).
I believe that CEO’s like Mark Hurd are a product of a bygone era and need to feel the pain of “every action has an equal and opposite reaction”. We are bright and intelligent people with smart and well formed opinions, we too can influence shareholders and analysts – they read twitter and blogs too – and now have a very powerful and fast medium in which to express ourselves intelligently. I suggest you do that.
The question I have going around in my mind is; if it’s supposed to be legislated that a CEO of a public company like HP has to act exclusively and solely in the interests of shareholders return on investment, was the intent behind that legislation ever that this would come through the systematic exploitation of the employees? I personally don’t think so.
Fine words Damian
I have been an anti-union person since leaving college; I have forged a successful career in the technical sphere and have spent the last 10 years in management. That said, my feelings on unions have become ambivalent in the past 6 months. this blatent piggery is making me wonder which is the lesser of the evils. On the one extreme is horrific corporate greed, and the other are often (sorry) ignorant thugs who go way too far with their anti-management agenda. I think we need a professional and management union, perhaps affiliated to the general one but hopefully providing a moderating influence to spancel the thuggery that can ensue from organised labour. Just a thought.
CWA http://www.cwa-union.org is a professional union.
It is the one the Alliance@IBM is affiliated with.
Last week was official “decision day” regarding my forced relocation to Austin. Since there was no severance if I said “no” (not even WFR benefits), I decided to let them know my decision by walking off the job after more than 15 years. I sent my boss a terse resignation email and 60 seconds later I dropped off my badge at security. Felt pretty danged good. To sit around and document my many responsibilities for the good of the company that screwed me, just for my 5% reduced paycheck and many reduced benefits seemed really lame. I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
So, I’m going full speed on my home business 100% now and things are looking good. How did I have time for HP before?
Yeah, what kind of audacity assumes that you would be even remotely interested in documenting your responsibilities after being shafted?
Good on you, and good luck with your home business.
Care to post some of the text from your resignation letter so those of us planning similar actions can save some valuable time and get a laugh
great idea and good on you for walking out! Good luck.
Best of luck to you. Congrats for foregoing the documentation.
I can’t believe the nerve of this company requiring forced relocs, esp when they don’t even begin the cover the expense involved. Unless of course you are Hurd or Mott, raking in the millions – those guys they help out.
First of all I would like to applaude this guy for what he did. We are lucky that in the UK, Mark the turd cannot make us move our job without compensation or with no redundancy payments. The department we work in has a good team, reasonable line manager and even his immediate manager. Above that the managers work is limited by the CEO’s down to the point that if a support person needs to fly to a customer on a short SLA service call, the CEO many levels has to sign the flight ticket. Staff meetings have been stopped if there is any chance of a cost, even the cost of a coffee and a biscuit. The xmas festivities in 2008 where stopped due to the “Cost implications”. This year we were told NO salary reviews at all and then this 2.5 % to 5 % wage cut. The average salary in our department is only £18,000 and if HP say they always pay fair market rates, they must have their head so far up their own *rse, the brown stuff is blocking out all the sunlight. You only have to look around and you will find unskilled workers getting paid more than guys who have spent 4 years at university/college.
I don’t know if you people ever listen to Lou Dobbs on CNN. He is forever railing against business and talks about the war on the middle class.
I left this web address in the comments section on loudobbs.com Hopefully we will see some comment on HP on national TV in the near future.
Good for you we should all keep doing just that spread the word and the facts will come out!!!! has anyone outside HP ever heard of Omega ???
From a Yahoo msessage board comment-
“How many more of your friends and neighbors were terminated, careers beheaded by Hurd today?
That’s okay just push the cost of the welfare, the unemployment, the food stamps, the lost tax revenue onto the shareholders that supported all this and made it possible.
Hurds not gonna pay for it, that’s your problem. Hurd will send his army of lobbyist to demand more tax breaks and hold more jobs as hostages in Washington. The cost is pushed onto you and I.
The shareholders are the only ones left with disposable income in the USA. Tax the hell out of them and let them pay for the consequences of their actions.
The shareholders have money to throw around supporting the actions, rewarding one person, the CEO of HPQ with multi-million dollar compensation packages.
Tax the shareholders. Raise the capital gains taxes to make up for the losses of the off shore jobs.
The shareholders have encouraged the move of jobs off shore so it’s only fitting that they be the ones to make up for the lost tax revenue that they themselves have created.
They’re all terrorist. Economic terrorist. The CEO, the board of directors on down to the shareholders.
When they announce a million dollar savings from layoffs and off shoring that is money taken out of the USA economy. Tax revenue taken out of the USA economy too and the burden of that damage is placed upon an ever decreasing number of middle class workers to pick up.
I’m tired of it. You pick the cost up.
If you can give one man $42 million dollars, an amount of money that would support 1,000 jobs at forty-two thousand dollar a year because it’s your perception he made you a few pennies per share you can pay for the layoffs and welfare programs and subsidies, chip in the lost income from trickle down economics that you support. Pay for it !!
…and when you can’t sell your house and the price keeps declining because all of our living wage jobs have been moved off shore it’s your own damn fault, live with it.
Oh you made a thousand dollars on the stock, big deal, and you lost ten thousand in the re-sale value of your home because you are destroying wealth supporting off shoring. When ya gonna wake up?
Can’t you people follow the money trail for more than one transaction? Don’t you see the other side of your personal balance sheet? You’re supporting higher taxes for yourself and a lower standard of living in the long run. Wake the eff up. Kicked the CEO and board out. Stop selling out the country!”
Thank you for verbalizing what I have thought for a long time. The pigs are sabotaging the econonmy and getting away with it. Obama we gotta problem!
By the way, rumor is out there that the pigs extra pay cut for the EDS folks was so successful, it will be foisted upon the rest of the HP personnel.
Welcome to the wonderful world of variable pay, brought to you by Markie and the pigs. HP is making a profit, just not as much as they feel they should. The message should come out shortly after the numbers are released next week.
I guess it will be okay to tell your mortgage companies that you will be sending them 10% less. The utilities companies will understand too. Wonder what company will try this next? I bet IBM pigs will send Markie a nice e-mail for this stroke of genius. Now the companies can use the “consistent with the industry” line when screwing their employees.
have been following these comments and have read almost all. As a 19 year employee who is a top performer I agree to almost ALL (the few crude remarks ignored as they are counter productive) and am convinced that this company will be run into the ground within 5 years just after Mark Hurd takes a big extra separation bonus (why did the board not learn from the Carly lesson?) Someone mentioned “Wonder what company will try this next?” Well, several weeks ago the HP management team started demoting, 1 or 2 levels indicating that HP has decided to rework and therefore needed to reduce the pay curves. That is what they are “doing next”. This was an MH HR directive. I used to love this company; worked long hours and weekends but Mark Hurd stole during the good times and simply is exploiting the economically challenged times which really communicates his contempt for the people who made this company great. Now the parking lot is empty weekday eves and on weekends (Hmm I wonder how much loss of customer deals that impacts) and I never had so many people not care what happens to HP – everyone for themselves, dog-eat-dog. If I were a ‘long term’ stockholder I would be worried! If I were a HP customer I would go elsewhere. To summarize; The 879 comments on this site over just a couple of months states loud and clear that there is a very serious systemic cancer growing in HP and the marketing rule of thumb is for every one person that speaks up, there are about 10 (of the ones that have actually seen this URL) that do not, do the math.
Working for HP in the UK and seeing all the crap we have to put up with makes you think ” Why bother “. The big difference is the employees (not the CEO’s), actually care about their customers. The thing that is getting stretched to the limit is the good will and sadly that is nearly gone. We are fast approaching a work to rule that can only pi$$ off our customers first, our line managers second and the eventually the *u*kwits at the top of the ladder. When the economy picks up and HP falters, Mark will take his cash rewards and then move somewhere else.
I have been an EDS employee now for over 20 years and in the IT industry for close over 30 years and I have never witnessed such unchecked greed as I see now. I too have seen the truth about Hurd’s benefits, and other leaders’ benefit packages. I was on the global conference call in January when Hurd announced that he wanted employees to take pay cuts and how he was leading by example in taking a 20% pay cut himself. He also stated his intention to not introduce compulsory redundancies, on the basis that pay cuts would deliver the desired reduction in operational costs (and therefore please the analysts).
Within one day of that conference call, the truth behind his statements were known. The “business rationale” (the Leader’s own phrase) given was that the economic downturn meant that a freeze on all salaries, promotions, training and bonuses was necessary. When I asked the question about whether the HP Corporate Bonus package was frozen, I received conflicting answers from two sources. I take this as a “no” and predict that, later on this year, Hurd and his fellow crooks will receive massive corporate bonuses, funded by the pay cuts that we have taken and the “headcount” reductions.
Having announced that compulsory pay cuts would be introduced (where allowed), within 3 months we received an announcement that there will be more compulsory redundancies later this year. So, all you poor employees who accepted a pay cut (where this was an option), how do you feel about that? Your pay cut will be used for what purpose? Hmmm….let me guess….
In spite of my questions to the Leaders, the Works Council, our internal Communications and HR, I have had no reply to the question about whether there will or will not be redundancies later this year as well as the pay cuts. When the redundancies are enforced later this year, then it will mean that Hurd has deceived 300,000 staff at the start of the year and conned some employees into accepting a pay cut. It amazes me that someone in his position is prepared to actually LIE to his staff in order to increase his own wealth. The Corporate Spiv strikes again!
My belief is that Hurd is, based on the facts above, and the facts presented in other messages in this thread, a crook. He should be recognised for being just that. His role as a CEO is to act in the interests of stockholders (the owners of the company), the clients and employees, not in his own personal interests. It is clear that his actions are intended to increase his (and his fellow crooks on the Board) personal wealth. How on Earth can he justify personal use of a private jet and $30M+ bonuses to reduce operational costs? At the same time he is doing this, we can not even travel to other sites or to visit clients without approval from “on high”. He is crippling the company, reaping in the rewards for himself, destroying the morale of the staff. He is systematically plundering the company for its profits for his own personal gain.
To add insult to injury, we still receive frequent reminders from our “leaders” to complete our Ethics training self-certification course. I would suggest that this is a good place to start: no-one in EDS/HP should complete this training so the company then can not claim that it is “ethical” in its behaviour. A small step I know but one that may have an impact. I refuse to complete the training on the basis that I do not, for one second, believe that HP’s leaders are ethical.
If I were a stockholder in HP, I would demand his removal from his position on the grounds of criminal negligence and unethical behaviour and for putting his personal interests before the Corporation’s.
If there is one thing that has become clear from the current economic crisis it’s that CEO’s of large public companies cannot be trusted, or that trust and respect doesn’t come automatically as a result of their position, they have to earn it, and we should be questioning publicly everything they do for our own security’s sake.
Mark Hurd has lied about his 20% pay cut, he lied about the pay cuts saving jobs. It’s ironic to me that when times were good he was still finding reasons to cut people, salaries, and benefits.
The question I have is; during Mark Hurd’s tenure so far what has HP done to really differentiate itself in the market other than to acquire and devour it’s competitors?
I heard recently that there’s a good chance there will be some money in the bonus pot. Your average employee probably won’t see anything of this, while the senior managers make out like bandits. Again. Still, we have the satisfaction that just about every article about HP on the www gets a link to this blog alongside the criticism. I gain incredible joy knowing that Hurd and his cronies will be spitting teeth so many disgruntled employees
there’s an army out there filling blog comments with pointers to this site. Keep up the good work Damo’
What i cant understand is, how can they justify the corporate jet ? Why isnt it being sold and Mark forced to fly chartered ??
Another example of disparity, but not one that immediately comes to mind. I submit that corporate aircraft offer many intangible benefits to the E-staff: not having to wait in line, not having to get undressed to go through security, flying direct and into smaller airports, etc. There are also intangible benefits in keeping, say, experienced people happy instead of giving them the boot and replacing them with cheaper, less experienced folk. Ah, but look what is kept and what is sacrificed. It is the end of days for this once great company.
Some HP employees are even worse off. As has been mentioned before, if you exceeded your targets, you may just have received a pay rise at the official national intflation rate which was nowhere close to the real rise in cost of living, so everyone – except the executives – has been going backwards for years. A few years back, HP forced all its techniical presales people onto 20% salary at risk. So if you don’t make your numbers, then you’re 20% down on what used to be your monthly salary. We’re in a recession. No-one is making their numbers. HP’s technical presales people took a REAL 25% pay cut.
LOL If you hit your mark or exceed they come back and re-adjust your performanc emetyrics to reduce the
expense” of paying you what they said they would. I don’t trust HP upper management. Sad to say after 28 years with this company (I’m from pre-merger HP lineage). Pay cuts no raises in 5 years performance metrics that are forever changing. I actually was told that I will NEVER see another raise in my position because I’m topped out. That really gives me an incentive to go the extra mile, to work late start early. And now I’ve put 40% of my salary at risk because it has been decreed that all HP employees should/will have have some component of their compensation at risk. HP has definitely morphed into a Churn and burn outfit.
The 5% cut in pay doesn’t take into account the extra 10% that EDS an HP company has taken from its employees.
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