Following the November separation into HPE and HPI, all employees will be treated as day one employees. Currently, severance is based on the number of years spent with the company, employees receive a set amount of pay based on years of service at HP or previously acquired companies, EDS, 3COM etc. I'm an HP employee who had my own separation and I learned this information from management (a lifelong friend).
This is a brilliant idea for a company that has many long term employees and needs a way to save money during mass layoffs. I hated getting laid of this week, but according to my manager, I am one of the lucky few, I received months of severance pay and after Nov 1st laid off employees will receive a few weeks of severance. This is valid info from a source in the upper levels of management.