Wed, Jul 30, 2008 18:10 EDT

HP and EDS: Let the Layoffs Begin? (updates in the comments)

Topic: Partner/Vendor Management

Current Rating: Comments: 68

As HP inches closer to sealing its deal to acquire EDS, rumor has it that executives at EDS may be putting the finishing touches on severance packages for a significant number of its staff.

An EDS employee told CIO.com that, within the walls of the Dallas-based IT services provider, the rumor is that the company plans to lay off 20 percent of its Americas-based workforce tomorrow. EDS's director of corporate public relations adamantly denies any immediate workforce reduction, saying that any information about plans to pink-slip that many employees tomorrow is "completely factually inaccurate." *

It's been just over two months since HP announced its plans to purchase EDS for more than $13 billion. In the last few days, the European Commission approved the union, and HP and EDS announced that they'd settled shareholder litigation related to their potential merger. The waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 relating to the deal expired without a request for further information by the U.S. Department of Justice or Federal Trade Commission last month. And EDS stockholders are scheduled to vote on the transaction tomorrow.

EDS employees may not be the only ones distressed by the seeming certainty of the HP-EDS hook-up. Although most analysts and consultants still contend that a combined HP-EDS will be beneficial for most customers, there is one big user who’s taking the news harder than the rest. GM CIO Ralph Szygenda is smarting, one IT consultant who recently spent some time with Szygenda tells me. The long-time auto industry CIO who marketed his multi-sourced IT services environment as the "third wave of outsourcing" will find his IT services provider significantly less diversified once the marriage of HP and EDS is official. The Szygenda strategy, having a multitude of outsourcers cooperating -- and competing -- to deliver IT services at a lower cost, is will be set back several years due to the HP-EDS deal, says the consultant.

* This post was updated to reflect the additional comments from EDS.

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All Comments Comments

Wed, Aug 12, 2009 23:17 EDT

Taste of Your own Medicent

Posted by: Anonymous
Rating:

I don't see anything wrong about off shore centers, it is the only way that some IT companies can cut workforce cost and being competitive, in a more competitive world.
I believe that US is having the worst part since many companies already opened centers in other countries and hiring offshore employees but at the same time are closing branches in US.
However this kind of arguments in favor of speculating about the lay off in offshore centers are ridiculous the world change , the global business is leading up so why just don’t accept and face the reality instead of whishing bad luck to other people.

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Thu, Jul 31, 2008 16:19 EDT

EDS Layoffs

Posted by: Anonymous
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Well, I guess what goes around comes around.

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Fri, Sep 19, 2008 17:28 EDT

Layoffs

Posted by: Anonymous
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Anything in the West Lafayette, IN area on layoffs?

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Tue, Jul 14, 2009 23:21 EDT

I do not know yet for sure

Posted by: Anonymous
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I do not know yet for sure but I have a great friend of mine that was hired by EDS last summer and was not expierienced enough in programming but they were so-called willing to work with that person and getting that person in gear to learn but since my friend was slowly learning the C programming, they were not patient with my friend and let him go after three weeks, c'mon give me a break no company fires people during training that is just not right. I understand after three month probation that if an employee is just not cutting it then let that employee go, my friend worked very very hard on learning the programming but so called mentors did not like training that person, my friend was very hurt and sad about this. At the present time my friend is very very very very happy at a new job, no pressure, easy-going and something EDS does not know about is teamwork!!!!
Good luck EDS! I will say that much!

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Fri, Aug 1, 2008 15:02 EDT

EDS Layoff's

Posted by: Anonymous
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Well i was let go yesterday morning after 8 long years with EDS. I was told it was because of work force reductions. For those of you still with EDS be warned that they are going to be doing another round of cuts on the August 15th and possibly the 31st too, at least thats what i have been told from management.

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