HP To Slash More Than 24,000 Jobs From EDS Deal

In one more shock to a stunned Wall Street, Hewlett-Packard on Monday said it will cut more than 24,000 jobs over the next three years. Once completed, the restructuring is expected to mean an annual cost savings of about $1.8 billion.The announcement came at a securities analyst meeting where HP unveiled new plans to gain market share in a changing enterprise market.

At the core of the announcement is EDS. HP acquired the technology-services firm five months ago. Layoffs were expected, but slashing about 7.5 percent of the workforce was a surprise to analysts. It’s part of an effort to restructure EDS to streamline costs, invest in growth, and drive shareholder value, according to HP.

“HP now has the broadest technology capabilities in the market to meet customer needs today and in the future,” said Mark Hurd, HP chairman and chief executive officer. “HP has a strong track record of making acquisitions and integrating them to capture leading market positions. We will deliver on the promise of HP and EDS for our customers and shareholders.”

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Add comment September 17th, 2008

Faculty Shortage Calls Some Pharmacists Back to School

With pharmacists already in short supply nationwide, a dearth of pharmacy professors threatens to deepen the pharmacy labor crisis and backfire on the needs of the marketplace.

“The shortage of pharmacy faculty, now and in the future, represents a serious public health threat in the face of the rapidly growing consumer demand for prescription drugs,” says Lucinda Maine, executive vice president of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP).

In 2006, the AACP reported an 11 percent faculty vacancy rate. Even with vacancies at this level, pharmacy schools are expanding enrollments to meet increased demand, and at least nine new pharmacy schools are scheduled to open by 2010, two factors that will only exacerbate the problem, says the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education.

Therein lies the dilemma. With industry wooing both graduates and teachers with skyrocketing salaries and enviable benefits, who will instruct the next generation of pharmacists the industry so desperately needs? The solution lies in attracting more new pharmacy graduates and more practicing pharmacists alike to careers in teaching.

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Add comment September 17th, 2008