Something big in works at EDS: smaller paychecks

[OhioChick]

Parent company HP says aim is to bring EDS salaries into parity

August 5, 2009 08:11 PM ET

Computerworld - Hewlett-Packard Co., the parent company of IT services firm EDS, has cut salaries for some EDS workers by more than 30%, media reports say.

The Dallas Morning News and the local NBC affiliate, near where EDS is headquartered in Plano, Texas, are reporting the news of pay cuts based on interviews with unidentified employees.

The cuts, which could be as high as 50% once previous wage cuts by HP are tallied, may affect longtime workers in particular.

HP isn't releasing any details of the size of the cuts or numbers of employees affected.

An HP representative issued a statement saying that the action is aimed at bringing EDS salaries in line with those at HP.

A project "was undertaken to ensure that employees in both EDS and HP, holding the same roles, receive comparable compensation based on market rates," HP said in the statement. "While pay will not be impacted for the majority of employees as a result of this process, some employees will receive pay reductions while others will benefit from salary increases. We understand that these changes personally impact our employees and we are working closely with them during this transition."

HP acquired EDS last fall for $13.9 billion. EDS employed 140,000 people at the time of the acquisition.

Many U.S. firms have cut wages over the last year, but there could be other factors influencing any decision to cut wages at EDS, in particular, competition from offshore vendors.

Prior to its acquisition, EDS had been shifting more of its workforce overseas. It's a step being taken by the major IT services firm as it attempts to compete with low-wage workforces in India and elsewhere.

In 2006, less than 15% of EDS's workforce was based offshore, but by March 2008, just a few months before the acquisition, the offshore workforce was about 30%, according to data from the Everest Group Inc.

HP announced a company-wide salary reduction in February. At that time, HP said the base pay of other members of its executive council would be cut by 15 percent, and that other executives would take 10 percent salary cuts. The base pay of salaried workers was reduced by 5 percent.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9136309/Something_big_in_works_at_EDS_smaller_paychecks

[ihavenobias]

1. Ouch.

50%?

[mopinko]

2. one more reason to hate hewlett packard

had the appalling experience of opening a supposedly empty toner cart the other day and found that it was more like half full. also discovered just how hard it is to get or use anything but hp replacements. they are bastards.

[ChromeFoundry]

3. Ever think about refilling it yourself?

http://fillserv.com/support/refillinstructions.php

I've done this with ink cartridges, but never toner... my guess is that the toner would be easier and less messy if you take your time. Just a thought.

Note: I've never used this company, so don't take this as a sales pitch.

[mopinko]

5. you can't.

you have to replace the id chip on the cart, which the printer recognizes as "dead". lots of people out there will sell you kits with chips, but i had 2 different makers chips that the printer would not recognize. and the web is littered with the hulks of people who sold these refill kits, but are out of business.
but you don't even need to fill it. it isn't empty. printers used to have a setting of 'run when empty' which usually resulted in hundreds more pages, but they don't even give you that any more.

same with most of the newer printers. i did my own refills forever. not much better with my epson ink jet.

[ChromeFoundry]

8. So much for being GREEN! n/t

[mopinko]

9. this could be fixed by developing custom firmware.

but that is an even harder to find. one more good reason to have a gazillion models from every manufacturer.
the green thing is the part that bugs me. and the more i bump into it, the more it bugs me. getting to be a real pet peeve.

[ChromeFoundry]

4. This is bullshit...

parity my ass.

[DemReadingDU]

6. Haven't worked at EDS for many years, but

But at that time, compared with employees at other tech companies, EDS was underpaying them. The joke was that you initially get hired at EDS for the training, and leave after a couple years for a MUCH higher salary. This was before all the job outsourcing.

[JustAmused]

7. Former EDSer here

I worked for EDS for 10 and a half years. I was laid off recently and took my severance package. My last two weeks at work were spent on the phone training my Indian replacements in Pune. In the last two years there, we had to take back two major projects from India once we had handed them over. They simply were not doing the work the client expected. We kept one of those projects for a year while the Indian group tried to train enough people who could actually do the job. The clients in both cases were corporate clients, major corporations and this was their internal tech support and network administration. The work force at the call center here has been cut in half since the beginning of the year. Those that are there are making less, and leaving as soon as they can find something else. My guess is that HP will get rid of this division in the next few years, since they simply do not manage it well. There was a time a few years back when the "HP Way" actually meant something, including employee involvement in decisions. That time is long gone I am afraid.