Hewlett-Packard (HP) has asked its 90,000 worldwide staff to take pay cuts or additional holidays in an effort to cut costs.
In a memo released last week, employees were given three choices; a 10% pay cut, eight extra days of unpaid holiday, or a 5% pay cut and four extra days of unpaid leave.


The package differs according to local labour laws. For HPs 2,700 UK staff the pay cut would be for the period 1 July through to 31 October the end of HPs fiscal year for which employees would be given eight additional days leave.
It will cover all salary grades, but staff on long-term disability or maternity leave will not be asked to contribute.


The news comes after the group announced at the beginning of this year that 1,700 sales and marketing jobs would go by the end of April. Around 350 of its 25,000 European staff were affected, including some in the UK division. Four months later HP said 3,000 management jobs would also go.


A UK spokeswoman said the global economic downturn was affecting revenue, adding that external economic indicators did not suggest a turnaround anytime soon.
She said that a recent round of discussions clearly indicated that the companys cost structures were not as competitive as they needed to be.


The company said 23,000 employees had signed up for the programme within 24 hours of the announcement but declined to say exactly how much it hoped to save.
It also declined to reveal if other expenses such as company cars and mobile phones would also be subject to cuts.


Story by Fay Schopen