back to article HP offers EDS staff unpaid leave, cuts in hours

HP has emailed EDS staff offering unpaid leave and temporary cuts in hours and wages in an attempt to cut costs. Before the end of October staff can take either unpaid leave or a reduction in working hours. All breaks need to be negotiated with managers and there is a minimum take-up of five days. Workers can either take a …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    Not just EDS

    This has been offered to other parts of the HP Ireland business, including a very prestigious Banking managed services account...

    <wink nudge>

    You ain't seen me... right?

    </wink nudge>

    Pirates - because only HP could do this type of skull duggery and keep a straight face.

  2. Rizzla
    Grenade

    Well there's a surprise.............

    Could it be that the offer of a permanent pay loss of 5% has met with a somewhat less than warm reception I wonder....?

  3. Antidisestablishmentarianist
    WTF?

    A "Status Car"?

    Sorry boys, the gravy train is over.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    EDS second class citizens

    Not HP wide just EDS only yet again, second class citizens. EDS are bringing all the revenue in, keeping HP afloat.

    Why isn't this being done company wide in HP? It's a bit more relevant to people building servers & computers that aren't being bought as much rather than services staff already stripped to the bare minimum.

  5. Andus McCoatover

    Status car?

    <<The company also said new joiners would not be getting a "status car" as a business perk.>>

    (Didn't know EDS employed carpenters....)

    So, the rest of the e-mail must've said something like: read Jeremy Clarkson's reviews and pick a car with no more than 2 stars on the 'Clarkometer'.

    That'll instil confidence in the customers, natch.

    For the uninitiated: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/ See Clarkson's reviews

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ho ho ho

    <<The company also said new joiners would not be getting a "status car" as a business perk.>>

    I can just see the guys who i used to work with in the EDS Offices is telford going apoplectic over this one! What cars..!!!??? Wi neva git any kars (sorry cant do a west midlands accent)

    It became apparent that in the days of "EDS proper" the ex SD-scicon boys based down south got more money and cars and the those in the provences got naff all! As they were a captive audience in a new town at the end of the road to nowhere....

  7. Andus McCoatover
    Troll

    Mr. Hewlett and Mr. Packard...

    ...must be spinning in their garage.

  8. douglasbrown
    Thumb Up

    Excellent Idea - all companies should consider this

    I think this is an excellent idea. I would love it if companies allowed more perm staff to reduce their working time for a reduction in pay.

    Some younger staff would use the time for education, travel, [applying for better jobs], spending time with family etc. etc.

    One of the disadvantages of perm work over contract is that fact that you have to limit time off so much.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    EDS as second class citizens?

    "Not HP wide just EDS only yet again, second class citizens. EDS are bringing all the revenue in, keeping HP afloat."

    errr.... firstly, EDS are second class citizens, name a project they have not screwed up in the last 20 years?

    Secondly HP seemed to be doing pretty dammed well when they brought you...

  10. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    @EDS as second class citzens (AC 17/07/09 12:37)

    clueless dk-hd said "firstly, EDS are second class citizens, name a project they have not screwed up in the last 20 years?"

    Suggestion, get yourself over to http://www.eds.com/news/wins/. Yep, now see how many large companies _choose_ to do business with EDS. Second, note that two of those listed are _renewals_ - that's right, EDS "screwed" up the contract sooo badly that the customer decided to continue letting them do it. Yeah right! Hands up, I'd be the first to admit that there's been some "pooch screws" in the past - UK IR, NMCI jump to my mind. But that's kind of expected with government contracts, some of them get royally humped, irrespective if it's EDS, IBM, Cap Gemini, Accenture, Fujitsu or whoever. But for every big time cockup there's been a shedload of stuff done quietly on-time/on-budget or better.

    Second part - clueless dk-hd also said "Secondly HP seemed to be doing pretty dammed well when they brought you". Actually no they weren't - HP Services were (reputedly) losing contracts - mainly to IBM Global Services. Do you really think that that notorious tight-wad (not got moths in his wallet - he's got fossils of moths) Mark Hurd would spend all that money buying EDS if he didn't _have_ to. Heck, I know from experience where HP Services lost deals and EDS got them - EDS were just plain better at "services" than HP*.

    * I don't blame HP Services for this - the problem is, and still is, their management. IBMGS or EDS come into a customer and say "we prefer you use product X or Y, but if you prefer Z then that's cool, we can do that too". HP's atttitude seems to be "you use our product lines or we throw a major hissy fit". And like _that's_ really a way to keep a customer happy... NOT!

    I wonder what the heck's going on with HP - Hurd and co seem to be continually trying to shrink the business, whilst saying the opposite - actions speak louder than words Mark! Last rumour I heard was that R&D is going to be slashed to the bone - which for an 'engineering company' is tantamount to suicide. As an long time EDSer I've been impressed with my HP colleagues - but they (like us) just aren't given the chance to go out there and make a difference.

    And as for the latest idea - it's good in theory - but it's copied from elsewhere, and besides there's the suspicion that if you take the extended unpaid leave that when you come back you find that your job's been closed. After all, you can't be that busy if you can afford to take extended periods of leave - paid or otherwise. And Hurd and co have crapped on the workforce so many times that they/we automatically look for the worst in any announcement.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    what I can't figure out

    maybe its because I'm a prole, but what I can't figure out is if I'm not on site being charged to the client how does this save money. If I don't show up on the client site the client doesn't get work done and so doesn't pay for that work. HP then don't make their handsome margin on me. seems a dumbass way to run a services company.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    @ AC 9th July 2009 11:17 GMT

    I couldn't agree more. I see my customer feeling the pain as it's been force fed HP products.That has a knock on effect to the services that EDS are providing. Oh why oh why didn't HP buy Accenture or CAP Gem.

  13. Henry Wertz 1 Gold badge
    Thumb Up

    Definitely better

    Offering time off is definitely better. Australia's different I'm sure.. but here in the US, companies had been for a few years cutting more and more people..

    This demotivated everyone that was left (they may be the next to be fired).

    Usually they'd cut too far, and then be all surprised when the people left would not want to work like 60-80 hours a week to keep up (unpaid overtime if the company could POSSIBLY get away with it).

    In addition, stuff that "should" be documented wouldn't be because

    1. lack of time and motivation

    2. What are the odds that EVERYONE that knows how to do something would be gone at once? Well 100% if some beancounter fires them all.

    Depending on the type of company this can also create a brain drain -- who wants to work at a company that indiscriminately fires, and then tries to overwork the remaining employees? Anyone who can line up a better job does at this point. This overworks the REMAINING remaining employees even more, starting up a vicious cycle.

    We are generally shorted on vacation time as well, it's not like some places where we already have like months of vacation time... so additional vacation time would be welcome; paid vacation would be better of course, but still.

    Anyway, that's my view on it. Obviously paid, non-mandatory vacation would be better, but some vacation time would beat the alternatives by far.

  14. Ascylto
    FAIL

    Tag 'em!

    EDS staff set loose into society!

    These people should be tagged or 'kettled' as they will be a menace to ordinary people ... sucking their bank accounts dry ... and a real and present danger to government projects.

    On the other hand, we could send them to a country we don't like!

  15. Jacqui

    Reduce hours = reduced redundancy (six months)

    NASTY trick!

    My hubs worked for Shell in a local garage - he was *incentivised* to take a hours reduction and six months after they make everyone who took the hours cut redundant - at much reduced redundancy costs - as payoff contractually depends upon the last six months pay levels.

    The fact that he worked there for six years effectively running the bloody place does not count.

    I would suspect a similar agenda.

    Jacqui

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    @ AC 9th July 2009 11:17 GMT

    >> IBMGS or EDS come into a customer and say "we prefer you use product X or Y, but if you prefer Z then that's cool, we can do that too". HP's atttitude seems to be "you use our product lines or we throw a major hissy fit". And like _that's_ really a way to keep a customer happy... NOT!

    That is *seriously* naieve - having worked with IBMGS, if you think they don't push IBM product *big time* you are living in a dream world!

    Anyone who thinks EDS was ever "vendor neutral" only needs to look at the vendors who were part of the agility alliance - notice the similarity between them all? Yep... none of them had a serious outsourcing business... (i.e. they were no competition to EDS) Surely for HP one of the reasons for buying EDS would have been to push HP technology into those accounts... If I were a HP senior exec and I was asked to sign a PO for several $M of a competitors product, would I be doing my job if I didn't ask whether that can be done with HP product?

    And as for upsetting customers, Isn't the whole point of outsourcing to take away having to get involved in those sorts of decisions and issues anyway? Any customer who is not happy with a technology selection made by an outsourcing vendor obviously still employs folks it was supposed to get rid of when it outsourced - customers of outsourcers are supposed to concern themselves with service levels, *not* whether their service runs on HP, IBM or Dell servers!

    And anyway if you think EDS execs won't still take business to other vendors where customers demand it, you really are crazy - hissy fits by HP product folks or not..

    What seems more likely to me is that certain folks in EDS have aligned themsleves so closely with the vendors in the agility alliance that they are now in a state of panic about proving their relevance now the playing field has really been openend up...

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Troll

    @AC (19/07/09 11:17)

    How did that court case Sky had against EDS go again? Did you win?

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    my 2 centts

    How soon before EDS start loosing contracts due to HP imposed business practises?

    As a contractor at EDS I now get paid less than my colleagues to do the same job. Learning a new IT skill would be good , however with entry level jobs being sent to countries with cheaper staff, getting another job will be very hard.

    The only people who benefit will from this is the Board of Directors and their share holders.

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