HP-Compaq Sparks Fireworks Merger's Still A Pickle General feeling is Fiorina "went too far' in shaking things up, says analyst.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)

Byline: MURRAY COLEMAN

After surviving a miserable 2001, Hewlett-Packard Co. and Compaq Computer Corp. find themselves in the eye of a storm. Even if there's an economic rebound in 2002, the computer makers may not see clear skies soon.

The plan to combine both companies under the HP banner in a $20 billion-plus stock swap remains under heavy attack. Surviving family members of HP's founders are lined up in opposition.

Even within the company, support isn't unanimous. Analysts say many employees aren't backing Carly Fiorina, HP's first chief executive to be hired from the outside.

While HP's board says it's firmly behind the merger, analysts have heard complaints from midlevel managers. They gripe that Fiorina, who came from Lucent Technologies Inc., isn't doing things in the "HP way."

"When Carly Fiorina was brought in more than two years ago, the assumption was that she'd shake things up a little," said Charles King, an analyst with the Sageza Group. "The general feeling now is that she might've gone too far."

A merger is expected to cut at least 15,000 jobs. It would also mean a reorganization into four large units.