Unite Slams HP Job Cuts and Takes its Message Direct to the Chief Executive

LONDON, October 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Unite, the UK's largest union, has condemned Hewlett Packard's (HP) decision to cut 3,400 jobs from its UK workforce following the company's recent announcement that it intends to shed 24,600 staff globally in a re-structuring programme.

Unite will have an ad van circling the roads outside Ascot race track where up to 1,000 staff will be attending a meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) with Mark Hurd, HP's worldwide CEO, between 8am and 11am. Unite's message to the CEO is to see full consultation, no compulsory redundancies and redeployment and reskilling. Photos will be available after 12pm.

The re-structuring programme proposed will have a huge impact on HP's UK workforce with almost 3,400 proposed job cuts, nearly a fifth of the entire UK workforce.

Peter Skyte, Unite National Officer, said:

"Unite are not against change, but we will oppose any compulsory redundancies and require full consultation. We will closely monitor the impact of this proposal announced by HP and take all possible steps to safeguard the interests of our members and the workforce.

"We will be pressing for redeployment and re-skilling of the existing workforce as a core part of any restructuring, as has been done previously in EDS.

"We will be taking our message to Mark Hurd tomorrow to remind him that the decisions he makes in the boardroom have human consequences for people's lives and livelihoods. HP is a wealthy company with very healthy finances. We are seeing the workforce pay the price for the recent takeover of EDS."

HP has offices in Belfast, Birmingham, Bracknell, Bristol, Derby, Erskine, London and Warrington.

SOURCE Unite the Union