Sometimes something you read invites a closer look.
It was widely reported last week that Hewlett-Packard is considering significant staff reductions. Reuters notes that new CEO Mark Hurd is considering a wide variety of options, including cutting as many as 25,000 jobs.
The WSJ quoted ($) a mutual fund manager on H-P last week:
Hugh Mullin, a portfolio manager at Putnam Investments, said any restructuring would be welcomed by investors. “There’s lots of potential for cost reduction,” he said, adding that a simpler, streamlined structure at the company would better enable it to grow. “I’d like to see it done and quantified,” he said.
“I’d like to see it done and quantified.”
Any GC who has worked through a workforce restructuring knows the complex legal, financial, HR and communication issues that come into play. There are many traps for the unwary (or hasty). (See a short issues list from Hughes Hubbard & Reed). It is important for H-P long-term to do it right. For the GC and senior management, these are fellow employees who are being talked about, not just headcount to be “quantified.”
I’m sure that doing things right is important for Putnam.