HP sacks Israeli CEO - then reinstates him

Grey market spat

The chief executive of HP Israel is pondering his future today after HP sacked him on Friday and then rescinded the dismissal on Sunday.

Gil Rosenfeld, CEO of HP Israel, and 13 other senior HP executives were accused of grey importing - or presumably in this case of "grey exporting". Grey importing refers to taking kit from a lower cost area to a higher cost area - HP has long taken a stern line against such activity.

HP Global has been investigating Israeli sales since February.

It originally accused Rosenfeld of personal involvement in the trading, but now says he bears "administrative responsibility".

Rosenfeld said: "In contrast to the humiliating letter HP sent, in which it was written they found I was personally involved in the gray market in Israel, they retracted those statements. They talked about administrative responsibility and not about personal responsibility. It amazed me that despite all the requests of the last several weeks, they either couldn't or wouldn't present me with any of their findings."

HP was to hold a meeting with the fourteen to sack them but that meeting has now been "indefinitely postponed". Rosenfeld, and his lawyer, are now seeking a restraining order to stop the printer giant from sacking him without providing evidence.

We did call HP UK but they declined to comment.

Original story from Haaretz here and update here.®