Compaq shareholders have approved the acquistion but the final results could take several weeks as HP votes are tabulated. Understandably, employees from both sides are getting increasingly agitated and frustrated. "I feel trapped," said one HP sales executive based in Kuala Lumpur. "They (management) tell us it's business as usual and Compaq is still a competitor but how can we concentrate with all this uncertainty?" He said most customers are adopting a "wait-and-see" attitude where "they tell us to wait but (go) see our competitors instead." In Malaysia, HP and Compaq have approximately 300 employees each. HP's management team will meet Kuala Lumpur-based employees at 11am on Friday to explain the regional executive appointments and the company's next course of action. Compaq's operations in the region comprises three segments: Asia-Pacific led by Chan; Greater China headed by Philip Yu; while Hajime Takayanagi manages its Japan unit. For HP, the entire region is solely under the helm of Lien. With the new organisation, Japan will operate as a separate entity. Co-chaired by Compaq's Takayanagi and Masao Terazawa of HP, both executives will share the additional duty of managing the company's enterprise business in Japan. HP is regionally headquartered in Hong Kong although most of its management team, including Lien, is based in the Republic. For Compaq, Asia-Pacific is run out of Singapore, and according to the Compaq spokesperson, the island-state will be used as HP's Asia-Pacific base. In the coming weeks, both companies are expected to detail which employees will stay following the merger. Sources said most Asia-Pacific-level announcements are expected this week, followed by the various country managers. The next hot seat is Southeast Asia with current contenders, Tan Choon Seng, Compaq vice president and managing director, and Chia Wee Boon, HP managing director, vying for that spot. Both companies have said they plan to cut, on a global basis, 15,000 jobs shortly after the deal is completed. HP has 14,000 employees in Asia-Pacific against Compaq's 5,000-odd. HP has manufacturing plants in Singapore, Japan and China, while Compaq has similar facilities in Australia, India and the Republic.
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