Thread regarding HP (Hewlett-Packard) layoffs

When I worked at HP (pre-2018), it wasn't called DEI but we did attempt to fill positions with qualified candidates that met certain criteria. We never gave someone a position they either weren't qualified for or couldn't grow into the position just because they were in some DEI category.

Once someone made the qualification cut, we did look at their DEI category. I don't recall anyone being given a position solely because of their DEI category. If you didn't make the qualification cut, DEI wasn't going to help. I suspect it's still the same today.

Yes, as white person I did lose two position due to DEI but in both cases, the person selected was certainly qualified. Such is life. However, in the end of my career, I was aware that as an older employee (we jokingly called it AGE - Acceptable Geriatric Employee) I was kept on because I fit the DEI category of "old person." And since I delivered result, it was an easy decision. Sadly I was never offered EER in any form because of it. They wanted me to stay. I finally didn't want to stay, quit and took my bag of money and benefits with me.

In my experience DEI/EO was managed pretty well even if there are examples of bad choices.

Anything other than a white male basically. Women, LGBQ???, minority.

My manager, off record at a restaurant during lunch, once told that there is indeed an agenda for DEI at HP. They mentioned that they were pressured by our director to hire an intern who was considered diverse. The original plan was to rehire our previous intern from the previous summer. He happened to be a white male. My manager rebelled only because the previous intern was the only qualified candidate. Our director didn’t care and she said that we were obligated to train the next intern. My manager refused and nothing happened in result of their actions. They and one other team member were the only white people on the team.

So DEI is strongly pushed but not mandatory. I’m extremely confident that there is a tracking system. One could probably argue that their DEI methods are not the most effective because it’s based mostly on race, not s-xual orientation, gender identity, disability, and so forth.