Hewlett-Packard Co. workers objected to the Compaq Computer Corp. merger by a 2-to-1 margin in a survey released on Wednesday that was commissioned by the deal's opponents and which reached nearly the opposite conclusion of a similar poll by management.
Financed by David W. Packard, a son of HP co-founder Dave Packard who opposes the $21 billion merger, the survey showed 63 percent of HP workers in Corvallis, Oregon, opposed the deal and 31 percent were for it. Another 6 percent had no opinion.
Employees' attitudes are a crucial test of the deal and an emotional flash point, because HP prides itself on its community-style management, and worker opposition to the deal would make the integration of Compaq tougher to pull off.
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