back to article HPE: Hell yeah, those job cuts worked out great… for our investors

Hewlett-Packard Enterprise is crediting the success of its Next corporate remake – as in, who should we fire Next – in helping it top expectations in its latest financial quarter. Execs at the IT goliath said Tuesday the ongoing efforts to focus its business and reduce headcount are working out better than planned, leading the …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    My 12 year old

    Needs to get a job at the reg. She'll probably write a better analysis than this!

  2. tfewster
    Facepalm

    > Revenues of $7.5bn were up 9.7 per cent from $6.8bn a year ago

    Please explain to me how job cuts improve sales? Unless they sacked the sales prevention and invoice deletion teams?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Revenue up

      Well, there is a thing where management spend less time worrying about dozens of different things and focus their time just on a few things that generate more money.

      A lot of the time its not just having salesmen out there but having all of the other bits that you need to make a deal closure work.

      I know it sounds illogical, but it is perfectly possible theoretically.

    2. SebastianRR

      You have aptly described the HPE sales force.

      Try getting a quote on time. Took us a few weeks to get a response. Firing those yahoos and giving the job to anyone with a heartbeat is an improvement.

  3. Anonymous South African Coward Bronze badge

    In the short term, yes. Things will look good.

    But, in the long term...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      in the long term?

      IBM

  4. sawatts

    You can make huge profits by asset stripping.

    1. 8Ace

      To clarify

      You can make huge profits by asset stripping.... for a short while.

      1. tekHedd

        for a short while

        "It's funny how falling feels like flying, for a little while"

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTYyS8bxV78

  5. handleoclast

    C suite thinking

    Our operating costs are too high and our sales are too low. So we should fire everyone in operations and double the sales force. And give ourselves a gigantic bonus for coming up with such a clever scheme.

  6. Jay Lenovo
    Terminator

    People are what makes us different

    HPE (Hewlett Packard Executives).

    Let's contract out the rest.

    1. not.known@this.address
      Trollface

      Re: People are what makes us different

      HPE (Highly Paid Executives).

      Fixed :-)

      (I'm sure trolls - even the hide-under-a-bridge-and-scare-billygoats variety - could do a better job...)

  7. David Gillies

    "Those job cuts worked out great for our investors". In other words they were a success by the only metric a business should have. Jobs are a cost, not a benefit.

    1. not.known@this.address

      "Jobs are a cost, not a benefit"

      I think you're right - every worker should be sacked and replaced by an Outsourcing Manager who does absolutely f***-all except add extra layers of cost and paperwork for what his underlings do.

      I vote we start by putting anyone who seriously[*] believes you have suggested a good business model in a submarine and outsourcing the OBOGS support role first...

      [*] You *WERE* joking - weren't you??

      1. David Gillies

        Re: "Jobs are a cost, not a benefit"

        Jobs being a cost to a business rather than a benefit isn't exactly controversial. It's an accounting identity. Arguing against it is like arguing against double-entry bookkeeping. If a firm can make more money (or even the same money) with fewer people, that's a GOOD thing. It's otherwise known as "increased productivity".

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Cutting headcount always works in the short run

    The question is whether it will hurt them in the long run - but by then the executives who made those decisions will have moved on, and cashed out.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'm not sure how cutting operational staff makes a company more able to cope with change. Especially when the best and brightest are the most able to jump ship when see the possibility of job loss and I'm going to assume that's happened a lot. Oh well, outsource it all. How could there be an issue with that? ;)

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