Saying “You’re fired” hasn’t come cheap at Hewlett Packard…
Technology aside, one of Hewlett Packard’s biggest exports over the past few years has been its employees. According to the 10-K the company filed on Tuesday, HP has had at least six rounds of restructurings since 2001. A story we ran last December counted 45,000 announced layoffs.
We fire, because we care. And to save money. But you have to spend money to save money, as they say.
And according to the annual report, those ongoing restructurings have now cost $6.337 billion, in cash and non-cash charges. (The latest chart doesn’t break out how it divides between each).
Okay, but at least HP is a lean, mean fighting machine, right?
Not exactly. Latest headcount from the filing: 172,000 employees worldwide as of October 31, 2007.
Compare that to:
2006: 156,000 employees
2005: 150,000 employees
2004: 151,000 employees
It’s called churn. And while it might make some employees nauseous, it’s been great for HP’s stock, which closed at $51.02 on Tuesday, up from less than $30 per share two years ago. Revenues clocked in at $104.3 billion, up from $86.7 billion two years ago. And profit is up to $7.3 billion from $2.4 billion two years ago.
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Just a note, HP announced internally they are selling the HP Vancouver site in early 08
Too all those people out there that might be looking at Hewlett Packard as an employer, look again and go to a company that cares for its employees!! I am an employee and have been for many years now. Over the coarse of my employment I have seen the company transform from a US company that is family oriented to a global company that outsources anyone possible at the cost to the client. Let me highlight some of the top reason to avoid Hewlett Packard at all costs!
1. Once you are in the fold, expect that Hewlett Packard will short you as much as possible and in any way possible.
2. Once you are in the fold, there is a 90% chance that your functions will change and you will be expected to adapt without any formal training.
2. Once you are in the fold, if you would like to put in for a per-motion, expect it to be much more difficult inside Hewlett Packard than if you were some new person off the street.
3. Once you are in the fold, if you are unfortunate enough to get any per-motion or advancement don’t expect a rase!!! Instead, expect a pay decrease because you were honored with this per-motion. I kid you not!!!!! Another funny note on this one is, if your position is posted as an outside requisition and you as an internal person get the role, they will not give you a pay increase where someone from the outside of the company will get the correct pay!
4. Once you are in the fold, expect that there will be a open door policy that will not be adhered too.
To all those people out there that might be looking at Hewlett Packard as an employer, look again! I am an employee and have been for many years now. Seek a company that cares for its employees. A company that wants to help there FAMILY grow and helps them with an actual budget. At this point, Mark has cut so much of the talent from HP that the clients suffer and they do not even know it. Over the coarse of my employment, I have seen the company transform from a US & International company that is family focused and believes in Bill & Dave’s “HP WAY” to a primarily global company that outsources anyone possible at any cost to the client as long as it is not clear where the degradation is occurring. Going global is great for some things, however HP’s stand, directly from HR, is “GO GLOBAL & PUSH THE NA EMPLOYEE OUT ASAP TO LOWER COST”. Let me highlight five of the top reason to avoid Hewlett Packard!
1. Once you are in the fold, expect that Hewlett Packard will short you as much as possible and in any way possible and even in ways that you never thought possible. (Ex no raise when it is years over due, no pension, loss of vacation accrual, ECT ECT)
2. Once you are in the fold, there is a 90% chance that your functions will change and you will be expected to adapt without any formal training. This is a fun one because people inside HP are great and very smart people. We all sit there and wonder what idiot thought of this. It destroys client confidence and employee confidence all at once. 2 bird 1 stone.
3. Once you are in the fold, if you would like to put in for an advancement or role change, expect it to be much more difficult inside Hewlett Packard than if you were some new person off the street. This may seem to be amazing, but it really is true.
4. Once you are in the fold, if you are unfortunate enough to get any advancement do not expect a raise. Instead, expect a pay decrease because you were honored with this gift of more work and more responsibility. I kid you not!!!!! Another funny note on this one is, if your position is posted as an outside requisition and you as an internal person get the role, they will not give you a pay increase where someone from the outside of the company will get the correct pay! Incredible, but true.
5. Once you are in the fold, expect that there will be a highly touted open door policy that will not be adhered to. (It is a trap) I do not care who you email or talk to, it will get back to you manager and if you have a good one they will understand that they could not fix the issue and just slap you silly.
In summation, I would like to ask that if Mark were to every read this, I would hope that he would wake up and take control of the company that he is driving. Look at Google, it is a great company and treats its employees right. We do not need 5 cafeterias, we just want to be treated with respect. Good people are suffering in HP and everyone looks the other way for the sake of the mighty dollar. (“I can only do what they allow me to”) I wish that the investors would stand up and see that you Mark, are eroding the strength of HP by doing this type of cost reduction. Life is too short to step all over the people that make the engine run on a vehicle that you want to drive. If you really do want the industry’s best talent, wake up and stop pushing us out the door. Bill and Dave would be proud!