The global trade union UNI today warned that the take over by Hewlett Packard of Compaq will not solve any of the problems facing both high tech companies.
News of the take-over broke as UNI leaders gathered in Berlin for their first ever World Congress, due to be opened by Federal President Johannes Rau tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday).
"This is not about putting the companies back on track, this is just about cutting jobs," said UNI’s Gerd Rohde. "Innovation and service are the keys to survival in the new economy, not bloodletting."
The theme of UNI’s Congress is putting people first in the New Economy and UNI is signing a series of global agreements with multi-nationals to encourage better corporate behaviour towards their workers.
14,000 HP-Compaq jobs are thought to be at risk and a number of manufacturing plants face closure.
UNI warned that an early rise in share prices of the two companies may not last.
"When analysts realise there’s no imaginative vision behind this move - like adding useful periphery or multimedia extensions to their products or improving service levels - stocks will continue to fall," said Mr Rohde.
When HP revised its profit forecast in July, almost 75% of the employees accepted a 10% reduction in their salaries or holidays. That was followed by 6000 job cuts. With the move on Compaq the downsizing process will probably accelerate, UNI warns.
UNI - Union Network International - is the global union for skills and services with 15 million members in 1000 affiliated unions world-wide.