HP workers get a shaft for Christmas

I received the ultimate Holiday Season gift from HP. My treat was news that I am being WorkForce Reduced. Yep, that's right, the week before Thanksgiving I got a call from my new manager (the 1st time I ever spoke to him 1-on-1) and was told that my position will be eliminated. 

I was given the boilerplate 9 weeks to find a new job within the company. The kicker is that one of those weeks was over the Thanksgiving Holiday and very few managers were around to be talked to about a new job, and now there is the upcoming 2 week Christmas/New Year Holiday shutdown where no one will be around to talk to about a new job. So basically, I was given 6 weeks to find a new job within the company. Thinking that is a little less than fair, I call Human Resources hoping to get an extension to at least cover the 2 week Holiday shutdown time that I am loosing. I was told that the policy is the policy and there is no leniency allowed, have a nice day. As a friend and co-worker would say "what a screwgy!". 

I'm so disgusted with the way the company has been treating it's employees that I'm not even sure if I want to stay with HP. Even while Management claims the company is doing well, the regular employees get next to no bonuses or yearly raises, and the senior managers continue to get bonuses that exceed many average American annual salary. 

I understand that the economy is in the toilet right now, but HP has being screwing it's employees for many years now. I have watched employee moral degrade over the years as jobs have been transitioned to low cost centers in other parts of the world, as perks and benefits have been reduced, as functional tools have been replaced with "less expensive and streamlined" tools that are cumbersome and unreliable, and as customers have complained as these changes have taken place. And yet, upper management swears that the customers are happy.

If the upper management at HP doesn't extract their craniums from their rectal regions the company is going to fall. They can't continue to treat their workforce so poorly, continue to send jobs over seas, provide degraded and inferior customer support, and still expect to sell their products to unemployed Americans. If the other greedy executives in US business and congress fail to realize that they are screwing the "working class" so hard and thoroughly, I fear that we are on a course to total failure.

"Great companies rise to the top in difficult times. I am confident that HP has the people, the spirit and the commitment to be the best."

Great companies rise to nothing, only great employees that are treated properly rise to the top in difficult times.

The real kick in the nuts is when they forward the employees numerous e-mails asking them to purchase HP equipment "at discounted rates". They have an Employee Purchase Program for the employees to take advantage of, but let's just say, I have found wal-Mart to be a cheaper source. Way to go HP.

who needs a bonus when you already make $1 million a month...

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fortune/0709/gallery.women_highest_pay.fortune/6.html


oh yeah...Ann does.

The email was verry encouraging for us all, and we are all working harder now... or not.

Really, an email like this is just going to demoralise all and imagine the impact on the work... not good.. not good at all.

They could just tell us: ok, so there are hard times, there will be no sallary increase.", but noooo they firs told us thet HP is best, and has huge profit, and we will not get any bonus.

:(

Since this news from Ann was received this was the only subject to be discussed while going for a smoke outside or in the emails...the general state is one of depression and feeling that everyone must seek other jobs..and if no raise is going to happen this year, everybody is more then sure that no raise will take place in 2010..due to the same economic depression..sure depressing..and they tell the workers that people are not motivated by financials...we call it bullshit...sorry for my poor English..

People should just be thankful they're employeed in this current market. With the acquisition of EDS I would imagine HP is just insuring their survivability. Though I wouldn't put it past a large corporation to skim a little more off of the top than they need.

Hi P!NG,

nice email sent to our dear Ann. I can speak in the name of several employees from the Bucharest Hub and we back this up 100% .

BTW - if you find buyers for the Trade secrets please let us know as we some of our own.

Cheers.

So Randy the boss of IT is doing the same thing yet he gets his multi million dollar bonus as he has hit his targets of savings...........nice one ! I get my bonus but screw you

you should have put the header as well, to show Ann's big happy smile when giving the bad news to her devoted employees!

When things go well, all companies say only a "thank you" to their employees. When it goes bad, they cut the bonuses. But I can't understand one thing. Where were the big bosses when the crisis started? And since they're so smart, why didn't they take any actions before? What did their great analysts do to anticipate it? The answer is nothing. That's why the workers are impacted.
Have a great Christmas, Mr Mark Hurd

Vista SP2 Beta, out to developers since Oct, is out Wednesday to MSDN & micro Tech members, while those of US in Real World can have Vista SP2 Beta Today, Thursday.

Think of Holiday Joy, Something Free.
Hp may have Scrouge Down, Microsoft may still be Vista Beta, yet thats all their problems, lay Freebies on US, NOW.
Mains & Games are pulling in some very improved Ultimate Scores & 64 bit media center stuff seems nearly complete, so Beta SP2 can only help smooth those still tiny bit rough edges.
Can You Hear That Hp, Vista Ultimate64 is Here, except in Hp.Maybe Do Your Homework & Save Staff Humillidegradation.
Drashek


To show solidarity, HP brass should take a temporary $1/mo salary until the rough times are over.

Intel is following suit by cutting benefits and salaries - if you hang onto your position.

Remember all of those billions of dollars those employees earned for you? Where are they now? Oops, so sorry - time for you to go. Hey appreciated all you did - really - thx.
Now leave already, ok

They know there are 50 people per employee waiting outside to take that persons position - and for less.

Scrooge is alive and well

[Begin Memo]
Subject: RE: Operational Efficiencies

Current Employee
EVP Technology Solutions Group
To: Ann Livermore
From: Current HP Employees
Date: December 2, 2008

Not Confidential – Public use only

In 2008 we delivered a strong performance relative to the competition and the market conditions, we proved our ability to execute in a challenging environment.

I hear that FY09 is shaping up to be an equally challenging year, providing us an opportunity to further differentiate HP in the marketplace with our customers and investors — but it won't be easy it never is. It will even be harder if you continue to reduce discretionary spending on all the individuals that make you successful. Therefore I am announcing a series of actions that we as employees will follow in response to your cutting back.

Effective Immediately:

-We will hold back on new trade secrets.

-We will sell all current and new trade secrets to IBM, Lenovo, Dell, Acer, and Toshiba (whoever is the highest bidder)

-We will still work overtime and when you refuse to pay we will take you to the federal courts and have you audited and then compensation will be made.

These are difficult actions, but necessary in the current environment. With all of us pulling together, we have an opportunity to increase market share and emerge from this downturn in a meaningfully stronger competitive position.

Great companies rise to the top in difficult times. I am confident that HP has the people, the spirit and the commitment to be the best.

Thank you,

[End Memo]



It's business at usual at HP.

Almost sounds like Carly never left....

I'm all for cuts across the board including CEO and executive compensation cuts - regardless of how well HP did this year.

For those who don't know, many in the U.S. will be jobless in 6-12 months. HP and every other company will be fighting just to stay in bidness. Those on the other side of the Pond are just starting to feel the pinch. You haven't seen anything yet.

For those who don't know, the U.S. has been in a depression for 12-14 months and the politicians in DC just got the memo on Dec. 1st. As a result they are talking shitze and doing nothing to help the economy or save jobs. It's all going down the toilet like never seen before in history.

Expect massive unemployment in the U.S. which will erode sales of all goods and services world wide. This ain't gonna be pretty. It's gonna be painful and long.

What Ann and most other corporate stiffs forget or just don't know is that great companies are great because of their employees so it is usually a good idea not to piss them off. But maybe Ann figures that with the economy in the toilet her pissed off employees won't have anywhere else to go. And to top it off she'll get a nice fat bonus for trimming costs and staying under budget.

The new HP Remote Worker IT Connectivity Policy regarding IT services will be implemented in the U.S. beginning December 1, 2008 (with a transition period ending January 31) and applied to other countries* in FY09. This policy replaces the former Global Connectivity Reimbursement Policy and changes pre-acquisition HP employee eligibility requirements for cell phone, home office phone and Internet services paid for or reimbursed by HP.

The new policy is designed to satisfy the needs of the business by providing the latest technology in connectivity services and remaining cost-effective.

What is changing in the U.S.:
All employees, including existing teleworkers, must meet the new eligibility requirements to qualify for a company provided cell phone and/or data services card (which allows you to remotely connect to the Internet):
The minimum requirement is that you work away from an HP or home office and require at least 10 hours of connectivity per month.
These services will be provided by authorized HP suppliers and will be directly billed to and paid by HP.

If you currently receive reimbursement for your home office expenses:
You will no longer be reimbursed for personal cell phone, home phone and home Internet service expenses starting February 1, since all approved services will be billed and paid by HP. This is subject to the following exception:
§ A reimbursement for home office expenses will be allowed to eligible employees in certain states** due to local laws. However, if you receive an HP provided cell phone and data card services, you will no longer be reimbursed for home office expenses.

Dear Everyone at HP,

thanks for working really hard last year to make HP lots of money.

In order that HP can still make lots of money for its investors and senior management bonuses you are all going to have to screwed by HP a lot more and don't expect any extra rewards for it, be thankful you have a job.

1)We are stopping all rewards and bonuses so you'll have to work your butts off just to keep your jobs.

2)If you're not squeezing money from customers don't even think about putting a travel expense claim in.

3)You will be subjegated and strapped to your desk.

4)You will enjoy (1),(2) and (3) above by order of the management

5)Be grateful for your job.

6)The only people allowed bonuses are those working in the returns department handling the huge volume of Nvidia defective parts.

Merry Xmas.

The Management

Read this...the pain is getting worst...

http://www.damiansaunders.net/2009/02/26/commentary/hp-pay-cuts-an-unfair-act-of-economic-opportunism-and-greed/