HP lands $675M outsourcing contract from Unilever

Hewlett-Packard's outsourcing business has scored an extended contract with
Unilever worth US$675 million, HP said Wednesday.

The seven-year deal will see HP managing Unilever's IT infrastructure in the
Americas, Asia, Africa, Turkey and the Middle East, handling day-to-day operations,
implementing new applications, working with technology partners and managing
third-party contracts, according to a news release.

About 250 Unliever workers will be transferred to HP under the contract's terms,
the release said.

Neil Cameron, chief information officer for Unilever, said in a statement that
the agreement is "a natural extension" of the companies' existing
relationship. "The intention between both parties is to leverage HP's scale,
expertise and industry leadership to ensure Unilever has access to world-class
technology at substantially lower costs," the statement added.

Unilever, a manufacturer of consumer goods, has roughly 179,000 employees in
nearly 100 countries. It logged €40 billion (US$58 billion) in sales during
2007, according to the release.