HP restructures (and teapot worship)

HP restructures. Again. This time planning 10% layoffs and changing pension arrangements. Oh, and also announcing the new CIO's $15.3 package, causing GMSV to quip that the walls of the garage are dripping blood. Here's what bloggers are saying...

Mark Hall is bothered by the message it sends to IT:

Not because HP's IT organization is bloated, but because HP has not said where the bloat is located. If I'm dependent on one or more aspect of its IT operations, I want to know ASAP whether anything I depend on is on the chopping block. [read more]

James Polling calls it corporate whoredom:

I'm ashamed to own an HP right now. E-mail Mark Hurd, the CEO of HP and let him know how you feel about his gutsy business plan. [read more]

Dan Gilmore reminds us that the old HP is long gone, as evidenced by the pension changes:

The weasel-wording ... is remarkable, especially the "better match industry benchmarks" line. Give me a break, HP. A more accurate way to say this would have been: "Everyone else is slashing pensions, so we will, too."At least HP is increasing the contribution it makes to 401(k) plans. Maybe Hurd had no choice. Maybe he's just cleaning up the wreckage of Carly Fiorina's misguided tenure, which was marked by the ill-advised buyout of Compaq. [read more]

Gordon Haff is struck by how HP didn't talk about its strategy:

It's all about benchmarking against industry best practices, you see, and the less glommed together unlike functions are, the easier it is to see who’s performing and who isn't. The cuts themselves also reflect a focus on cutting costs rather than any change in strategic intent–concentrated as they are on what amount to (perhaps outsourceable) support functions such as IT and finance. [read more]

Yale Tankus—an HP exec with a "blog" that has all the hallmarks of being written by a PR flak—counters:

Our partners should not worry; we are not changing direction but rather accelerating our plans to attain a "best-in-class" financial structure. Our strategy has not changed. [read more]

Sam Wilkinson is angry that America's corporate culture is bloated beyond belief:

To put it another way, CEOs who pay themselves and their friends in these ways ought to be sent to prison. Or ... castrated. [read more]

Buffer overflow:

• Do you use SharePoint?
• Microsoft draws a Longhorn performance line in the sand
• Rough week for Firefox team
• When technology takes over parenting
• .Net and VC loyalty
• Reader voices: security violation disclosures
• Shocking good sense -- write down your passwords!!!
• Security breach cost nonsense
• Greetings from your friendly malware
• What does it mean to open source the world?
• DRM: Additional thoughts
• Brilliant post on treating employees like adults
• $178 billion of baloney
• Make it a WeatherMac
• Open source the world
• Promise of open source

And finally... Condemnation for nations that outlaw worshiping teapots.

Richi Jennings is an independent technology and marketing consultant, specializing in email, blogging, Linux, and computer security. A 20 year, cross-functional IT veteran, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. Contact Richi at blogwatch@richi.co.uk.