HP leaks memo about leaks

THE PROFOUNDLY HURT chief financial officer of HP leaked a memo yesterday to everyone saying he won't tolerate leaks.

That follows a leaked conversation between him CEO Carly Fiorina which showed a level of panic that the proxy vote to takeover Compaq might not fall its way.

In the new leaked memo, Bob Wayman said that leaks "must not and will not be tolerated", suggesting that the voice mail was being misinterpreted by everyone who read the transcript with their own eyes and heard it with their own ears.

I'm afraid we have bad news for Bob on two counts.

The first is that people pretty high up in his organisation continue to brief us that the Compaq takeover would be a disaster for HP.

The second is that someone has leaked us information today that if the takeover goes ahead, the job cuts in both companies will be closer to 24,000 than 15,000.

And the third is that perhaps very senior managers at Hewlett Packard should ask themselves why so many staff at both that company and at Compaq feel demoralised.

Knowing that your job might disappear tends to make you leakier than normal, particularly if you think that the merger doesn't really make a lot of sense.

And many think that the damage has already been done, with competitors continuing to rub their hands in glee at the thought of the pantomime continuing.

Here's Mr Wayman's leaked memo in full:

Hello, this is Bob Wayman.

I want to take a few moments to address three very serious matters. First, many of you may know that one of my private voicemail messages was leaked to the "San Jose Mercury News" in recent days. This act represents the unauthorized distribution of confidential company information. Not only do I feel personally violated, but it is illegal and damaging to the company and your fellow employees. We are vigorously investigating this breach along with others that have occurred in recent weeks and we intend to prosecute these matters to the fullest extent of HP policy and applicable law. It is absolutely essential, as employees of HP, that we believe we can conduct business with confidentiality and security. This kind of behavior must not and will not be tolerated.

The second matter I want to discuss is the allegation that HP coerced and intimidated shareowners or improperly used corporate assets to secure votes. Frankly, I find these allegations both insulting and infuriating. Neither Carly nor I would ever act improperly in any business matter -- much less use business assets to secure votes.

In the final days of this proxy contest, we went to great lengths to ensure that investors heard and understood our case, particularly those who we thought might be leaning against the merger. That is what we as directors of this company are paid to do. It is our responsibility and our fiduciary duty. It is common practice in contested proxy fights that those conversations go up until the very last minute. We spent countless hours presenting the business value of our position up until every vote was cast, but we never, ever crossed any ethical or legal lines. The only good news about participating in a trial is that the facts will come out, the truth will be heard and our honor will be restored.

The third matter I want to discuss relates to support for our leadership. I am convinced there is no harder working CEO at any company, anywhere. Carly works courageously and tirelessly on behalf of this company and all of its constituents. While many of you don't have the opportunity to see it up close, I do, every day. It's time that we embrace this company's future and give our leadership our full support.

After 30 years with this great company, I'm not about to let recent events get in the way of what I believe is a very bright future for HP. I'd like to ask your support in helping me and other members of the management team move forward as a cohesive team and seize this opportunity to lead the industry again.