HP to cut salaries as profits decline; CEO takes hit, too

[OhioChick]

Hurd to take 20% pay cut as Hewlett-Packard looks to lower costs after weak Q1

February 19, 2009 (Computerworld) Hewlett-Packard Co. has cut about 9,000 employees so far as part of the planned layoff of nearly 25,000 workers that it announced in October. Now HP is reducing salaries and cutting back on travel in an effort to avoid being further wounded by the sharp knife of the economic recession.

On Wednesday, HP reported a 13% decline in earnings for its fiscal first quarter, which ended Jan. 31. Net income totaled $1.854 billion in the quarter, down from $2.133 billion in the same period a year ago. Revenue grew just 1% year over year, to $28.8 billion, and HP said it expects business to decline by 2% to 3% in the current second quarter.

The ongoing layoffs announced by HP last fall followed its $13.9 billion acquisition of Electronic Data Systems Corp. in August. Instead of making more job cuts now, HP CEO Mark Hurd said during a briefing on the Q1 results yesterday that the company is cutting salaries, "significantly reducing travel" and eliminating or lowering various types of discretionary spending.

Hurd himself will take a 20% cut on his $1.45 million base salary, for a reduction of about $290,000. But stock awards and bonuses helped to increase his total compensation to more than $42 million last year, according to a filing that HP submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9128266&intsrc=hm_list

[RandySF]

1. I've never heard anything positive about HP products

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. Are you serious? HP is a leader in solid, quality stuff.

I've had many HP products, and they've all been exceptionally good and wonderful.

It's a brand I trust implicitly.

They also used to be a wonderful leader in technolgy development, but like so many companies, they slashed their R&D funding so that they could have a better quarterly earnings report.

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. I remember when EDS was a giant corporation and a leader in the nation

Why do the biggest, most money-making corporations seem to be the ones that get the shittiest, know-nothing CEOs with no concept of history, the future, or anything beyond short-term earnings gain?

There are so many CEOs of small companies that are brilliant and actually know business - why aren't they ever picked to move up to the big leagues?

And who don't corporate boards start firing these mismanaging criminal assholes?

[ComtesseDeSpair]

3. Yep...

I work for the EDS branch of HP and found out a couple days ago that my salary is being cut by 5%. It sucks since I live paycheck to paycheck as it is, but I'm just happy I still have a job.