Another Round of HP Layoffs

geekroot's dad writes "AP News is reporting that Palo Alto, California-based Hewlett-Packard is 'fighting to stay competitive with formidable rivals like IBM and Dell' and is announcing 5,900 European job cuts "to safeguard the future" of the company. From the article: 'Michel Destot, the Socialist deputy mayor of the southern France city of Grenoble - where HP has one of its French plants - said the layoffs were "unacceptable" and demanded that HP managers also meet local politicians to discuss scaling back the job cuts.'" This round following the first cut back in July.

Comments

Put all right wing anti French stuff under here

[EugeneK]

I'll spare folks a lot of work.

"Oh, those evil French socialists! First they won't help us invade Iraq and now they are interfering with our right to lay off their lazy asses! I'm going to run down to McDonald's right now and loudly order some FREEDOM FRIES so if there's any French people eating there they will know how ANGRY I am!"

Re:Put all right wing anti French stuff under here

[FST777]

With the risk of sounding too anti-American (even for /.), this sounds truly cold-war-anti-socialist-pseudo-intellectual-econom ic-bullshit to me. After WW-II, the whole lot of western democratic Europe profited greatly from several forms of socialistic government. The fact that the economy had gone down-hill in the last few years says nothing about that.

The European economies have grown fast and heavy in the last 30 years, and are taking a break right now on the heels of the world economy, led by the US economy. Unemployment might be a bit of a problem these days, but in the west of Europe, poverty rates are MUCH lower than in the US.

Socialist regulations did that. And it worked for almost half a century. Look at the charts when you have the chance. We're now back at the same level as we were in 1999. That is not a big downfall. (btw, since 1999, all over Europe governments have reformed the socialistic regulations. Might just have been the wrong decision)

To safeguard de company?

[AnonymousYellowBelly]

Or to safeguard the top management body bonuses? =D To the guys complaining of the 'red' french... well, you should study their economic and political model. It is different, it has drawbacks, it has advantages. It is not perfect, just as the US' system is not perfect either.

Re:To safeguard de company?

[QuantumRiff]

What do you mean the US system of business is not perfect, its damn perfect!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go work for 12 more hours today, to pay for the trip to the dentist, since my current employer cut back health insurance. I had good insurance at my last company, but the company laid us off, and bought some new lear jets, gave a bonus to the CEO that only makes $25Million a year, and bumped their stock price 25 cents! LONG LIVE CAPITALISM!

Death Spiral

[Anonymous Coward]

Bad Earnings for Quarter ->
CEO Saves Money by Cutting Sales & Engineering ->
Better Earnings ->
Bonus for CEO ->
No New Products in Queue + Reduced Sales ->
Bad Earnings for Quarter ->
CEO Saves Money by Cutting Sales & Engineering -> ...

rinse, lather, repeat

Re:Ten percent unemployment?

[EnderWiggnz]

The other bit about EU unemployment rates, is thta they measure UE differently than the US. We generally report the U3 numbers, while they report the equivalent of our U6 numbers.

Currently, the US U6 numbers are 8.9%

Suddenly, we look a lot more like Europe.

Re:French labor laws...

[Usquebaugh]

They were.

Having worked both in Europe, not France, and the US for many years I know I was more productive under a system that allowed me time to re-charge.

The US may have me in the office longer but I feel I actually do less work. I cannot even take time unpaid time off, which I would gladly do.

In Europe I felt everybody was on the same page. We go to work to provide ourselves with quality leisure time and a nice life style.

In the US it would seem you go to work because nothing else matters. Marriage, health, sanity etc etc are all less important than having a job.

Of course, if you look at the widening gap between the rich and everybody else in the US it would seem that no matter how hard you work you're financial status in life was set when you were born.