Bottom Line Trumps Ideology
The high-tech
world has been pining for a "New Paradigm," and the HP-Compaq merger
is set to provide one. Unfortunately, it is a new approach to layoffs
- they'll be passing out pink slips to entire design teams rather than
redistributing the talent. Using a method dubbed "adopt and go," the
staffs of operations for the combined company's best products - as identified
by a 900-person transition team - could increase 10% to 20%, while most
employees would be laid off at product groups that are not on team's
list (an estimated 15,000 people). Ouch. So at HP, your future will
depend not so much on your individual performance, but to which team
you belong. This doesn't quite square with HP's proclaimed policy of
inclusiveness and diversity. When it comes down to the bottom line,
even the most liberal of companies become free-market practitioners.
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