Hewlett Packard Cuts Jobs
Job losses have become a way of life in times of recession. Employees are wary about losing their jobs and work under duress.
As job cuts are becoming the order of the day, Hewlett Packard has once again announced that it is sending home over 900 workers. There are 16500 workers at Hewlett Packard and it has asked 934 workers to pack their bags.
With over 4000 workers losing jobs in the past two years and another 900 set to go, another 1000 workers are expected to lose their jobs by the end of the year. What is interesting is that about 2000 contractors and temporary workers have been spared.
This has raised the pertinent question as to whether the layoffs are just a matter of convenience that is being passed off as an outcome of recession. Unite, the union of workers has minced no words while condemning the actions of Hewlett Packard. It has gone further to add that existing workforce will face a multitude of stress related disorders that may affect productivity completely.
Unite national officer for IT and communications, Peter Skyte is clear that the workers are affected despite the coalition government’s assurance of a balanced public-private partnership. In fact, he affirms that the job losses are a mere farce as the job responsibilities have been either lost or sent offshore. By retaining contractors and temporary workers the company has sent out the signal that it is only looking at its balance sheets with little regard for the human resource.
However, Hewlett Packard spokesperson is clear that the move is in tandem with the company’s goals to work better in the global market to provide better goods and services to ensure customer satisfaction. The company has also clarified that its actions were finalised in consultation with the Hewlett Packard European Works Council in November 2009.
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