HP to cut 25-30k jobs • Hacker News Board

Re: HP to cut 25-30k jobs

#201

Post by emp_zealoth » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 2:20 PM UTC

wyclif wrote: post #137

emj wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this a joke? Poland has a larger population than chile, better per capita GDP, and is a power house in the middle of Europe. They do still have some internal problems but this is nothing compared to the (low key) international conflicts Chile still is involved in. I love both countries though.

Why would you think that's a joke? GDP is only one metric, you know. And Poland's GDP Growth Rate is 1.67% to Chile's 4.07%. Chile also has a lower unemployment rate, and ranks higher than Poland on economic freedom.

And how is GDP growth more relevant than GDP itself? And what about humongous, growing income inequality? Chile doesn't really rank that well, does it? 140th out of 159 ranked countries http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=gini+index+chile

Re: HP to cut 25-30k jobs

#202

Post by mbreese » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 2:23 PM UTC

dexterdog wrote: post #140

jsprogrammer wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would HP really try to get someone they are laying off to sign a noncompete contact?

He has probably already signed one as part of his employment.

If you're laid off, that probably doesn't apply anymore. It would have to be negotiated as part of the severance package.

Re: HP to cut 25-30k jobs

#203

Post by DanielBMarkham » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 2:23 PM UTC

marktangotango wrote: post #199

DanielBMarkham wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Who would hire him at this age, with this kind of experience?" This is a question that only the market can answer. While we can speculate all day long, none of us have any idea who would hire him or not. One thing is a certainty: if he never tries to get another job, he will not get any. Here's something I learned from watching hundreds or perhaps thousands of folks navigate the tech labor market: people skills and…

Networking is so important. Just be pleasant and easy to work with. I see so many young devs who get so involved in code related pissing matches, debating irrelavant crap in the work place, being arrogant and difficult. A lot of guys I never want to work with again. True story, former employer had a lay off, the company I was at sent me an email with a list of everyone who had been laid off asking me (I was in good s…

This is very tough to learn, but critical.

The catch-phrase is "fierce opinions, lightly held"

I'll argue the shit out of whether or not brackets stand alone in C++ code, but at the end of the day we all agree on something and move on. We're still friends. You have to both be passionate about what you do -- and willing to see the big picture -- to be a true professional.

Re: HP to cut 25-30k jobs

#204

Post by perewhat » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 2:25 PM UTC

notNow wrote: post #118

stevewepay wrote: post #43

The sad part is that it's Carly Fiorina's fault for turning HP into the mess it was. And now she touts that as the reason why she should be president. It's a sick joke that she thinks gutting one of Silicon Valley's preeminent companies makes her worthy of being president. HP was the first company to pioneer Silicon Valley culture, ie. The HP Way. It was only after Fiorina's tenure that HP turned into a shadow of its…

It seems to me that she was engaged in org restructuring a la Perestroika under Gorbachev rule of the USSR i.e. the enemy within.

Are you suggesting Gorbachev was the USSR's enemy? He brought Russia out of the dark ages of government run socialism i.e. communism. He and Reagan gave Russia the new found joys of capitalism it enjoys today and brings the world all those cool I Love Russia YouTube videos.

Re: HP to cut 25-30k jobs

#205

Post by FilterSweep » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 2:26 PM UTC

mahyarm wrote: post #64

wpietri wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If some employees are phoning it in, I think it's worth asking why. It's been a long time since I felt that way at a job, but for me it came out of shitty, disempowering, unrewarding environments. But even running with your argument, that the people laid off are slacking, I think it's an enormous failure that they let 30,000 of those people accumulate such that they were wasting $3 billion per year. Especially given…

You work remotely, life is pretty low stress. Live in a cheap cost of living place, take care of the kids while the spouse is out working on their other job. Never get a raise in 6 years. That is why they phone it in.

I find it hard to believe a matured company, rife with middle management, wouldn't have held those people "mailing it in," so to speak, accountable years ago. Whether they work onsite or remotely, some work is turned in. A handful may fall through the cracks, but it's just that, a handful. Not 30,000, even in a company much bigger.

Re: HP to cut 25-30k jobs

#206

Post by cmurf » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 2:27 PM UTC

jsprogrammer wrote: post #117

cmurf wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If he's called-in to early retire or otherwise let go, make sure he doesn't sign a non-compete at that time. He should have anything he has signed, and is asked to sign, reviewed by an attorney. It's just not reasonable for companies to terminate someone's job and tell them they can't compete including being hired by a competitor, but they try this all the time in blatant ways and it's not just the old guard companie…

Would HP really try to get someone they are laying off to sign a noncompete contact?

Do not underestimate hilarity of corporate legal.

Re: HP to cut 25-30k jobs

#207

Post by wpietri » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 2:27 PM UTC

x0x0 wrote: post #97

wpietri wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Definitely. Or, if consulting isn't to his taste, take a job with one of them. In his shoes, I'd also make sure I keep contact information for all his best customers. Because if he gets laid off suddenly, he'll want to go back to them at least to say, "Hey, do any of your vendors need a reliable field service engineer?"

keeping contact information is probably against his contract, and covered as customer information under noncompetes discovering an interest in being linkedin friends with them is not afaik

Yeah, I was suggesting the latter. The purpose of a non-compete is to keep him from taking information to the competition, so if he merely uses his phone contacts list to get a job, I don't think HP's going to sue.

Re: HP to cut 25-30k jobs

#208

Post by panzagl » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 2:29 PM UTC

kazagistar wrote: post #71

jfoutz wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your dad needs to think about the next best 5 guys, and how to pick them up for cheap when the layoffs happen. At his age striking out on his own will seem absolutely terrifying. Work on him for a few months. He must have built up some serious contacts over the years. His pitch is straightforward. HP can't actually support their products anymore, they don't have the staff. He knows the hardware inside and out. Sell s…

There is probably a non compete exactly for this situation.

They still have to sue you to enforce it- better to have a 6 figure income and a non-compete lawsuit winding its way through court than to be handing out carts at Walmart.

Re: HP to cut 25-30k jobs

#209

Post by dragonwriter » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 2:32 PM UTC

dovereconomics wrote: post #142

emp_zealoth wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. Rant incoming. Im just aghast how shitty your country is. I can understand living in fear of mortgages and the like, jak with at will nonsense and the like ( gags ) But your employer having a gun to your beloved's head - that what it basically is - is just rotten. I genuinely wish that any libertarians here (in Poland) move to USA or, Friedmans beloved, Chile. I hope they get to experience shit like that. I gues…

But... ,in a libertarian country, HP wouldn't exist in the first place. Crony capitalism still is not capitalism.

The worst, unchecked, crony cap Papuan is exactly the system for which the name "capitalism" was coined, and crony capitalism had been part of what the term had referred to -- and an element of all real-world systems with the name -- since the real-world nineteenth century system that features it was named "capitalism" by its critics.

Cronyism is central to capitalism, and you can't have one without the other.

Re: HP to cut 25-30k jobs

#210

Post by null_and_void » Wed, Sep 16, 2015, 2:34 PM UTC

joshmn wrote: post #8

My father is a field-service engineer for HP in Midwest (based out of Minneapolis, but he has calls all over from Fargo, ND to Mpls, MN to Madison, WI). He is _the_ go-to for their biggest, most senior, most mission-critical clients. He put together UMN's Alpha setup, is the only guy that USPS will call for help, MNSCU, Best Buy, UHG... basically, anyone with an HP setup (server or printer) that's a Fortune 1000 (and…

The company I work for very likely would hire him. We are field-service for hardware and have techs in Minneapolis. While it may not be as flashy as software development or support, the job field still exists and jobs are still available. Have a little bit of optimism!