HP Mulls Printer-PC Group Re-Fiorinazation

September 30, 2009 at 1:53 pm PT

Four years after separating its PC business from its imaging and printing group, Hewlett-Packard is planning to merge them, undoing one of Mark Hurd’s first big moves as CEO.

“People familiar with the situation” tell The Wall Street Journal that the plan under consideration would combine HP’s printer and PC businesses under Todd Bradley, who currently oversees only the latter. It’s not yet clear what such a move will mean for Vyomesh Joshi, who heads up HP’s Imaging and Printing Group. Presumably, the company will keep him around. Under his leadership, HP’s printer business generated more than 30 percent of the company’s total profits during its last quarter.

In any event, should the plan be approved (and it is contingent on Hurd’s approval), it will bring HP back full circle to 2005 when then-CEO Carly Fiorina merged HP’s printer division with its struggling PC division. Except now that printer growth has slowed, it’s the PC business that’s the powerhouse.

Tough choices, *cough*, eh Mark?

Tagged with: Carly Fiorina, digital, growth, hardware, Hewlett-Pacakrd, HP, imaging, Imaging and Printer Group, John Paczkowski, Mark Hurd, merge, PC, printing, profits, Silicon Valley, The Wall Street Journal, Todd Bradley, Vyomesh Joshi

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Rocky Balboa

I guess Hurd has run out of costs to cut and employees to torture, so now we play musical chairs. I guess we’ll have redundancies and have another big lay off. Must be another ploy to enrich the executives and deflect the criticism that he can’t grow revenue and has no strategic vision.
Kevin Dent

I am lost for words! I thought this guy has done a great job to date.

1. The printer biz is doing great.

2. The PC biz has come on leaps and bounds.

I actually rate Carly as being perhaps the worst CEO in terms of valley majors.

The Compaq deal alone…..ok I am going to stop here, the ladies did not have the sense god gave goats.