IBM CEO blasts HP, Hurd

IBM chief executive Samuel Palmisano knocked rival Hewlett-Packard's costly acquisition of 3PAR on Tuesday and said HP shouldn't have given former CEO Mark Hurd a $35 million severance package.

During an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Palmisano said he doesn't worry about companies such as HP that have slashed their spending on research and development.

"H-P used to be a very inventive company," Palmisano said.

He also said IBM would have never paid as much to acquire the data storage firm 3PAR; HP recently won a bidding war with Dell over the firm with a final bid of $2.1 billion. Palmisano blamed Hurd, who resigned from HP last month over alleged improprieties concerning HP contractor and former actress Jodie Fisher.

"[H-P] had no choice," Palmisano said. "Hurd cut out all the research and development."

Palmisano called Hurd's $35 million severance package "not a good use of shareholder money." Hurd joined software giant Oracle last week, prompting HP to sue him, claiming a violation of his severance agreement.

Palmisano also said he has no plans to retire despite the fact he will turn 60 next year. He also criticized an Obama administration proposal to raise taxes on exports and praised Google and Apple for their simplicity and innovation, respectively.