Facing declining revenues and operating incomes, Machiavellian CEO of HP, Meg Whitman, ever-dedicated to the cause of increasing the profit margins, plans to restructure company and cut jobs. Whitman plans to combine the printer and PC businesses, both of which have been sinking like bricks, in the restructuring plan.
Needless to say, this has been attempted before...not once, not even twice...
Toying with the structure of the PC and printer businesses also is a ritual of sorts for H-P bosses. The PC and printing units were combined in 2005 by Carly Fiorina in one of her last acts as CEO. Her successor, Mark Hurd, separated them again six months later, only to come close to reuniting them once more in 2009. Last August, Mr. Hurd's successor, Leo Apotheker, proposed spinning off the PC business entirely. The proposal contributed to a massive selloff of H-P shares, and led in part to Mr. Apotheker's dismissal a month later.
The age-old adage "if you tie two bricks together, they will sink" might apply here. Honestly, who in enterprise settings even purchases HP printers anymore? I am currently at a software company and we have tens of thousands of printers -- only the most ancient of which are HP LaserJets. Ricoh, Xerox, and Brother seem to completely control enterprise printing...and let's be honest, no one even owns a personal printer these days.
Is this the right move for HP? Their stock plummeted before Whitman arrived, and has since remained steady, though low. What's the right play here?
If you don't have WSJ access, Google "H-P Plan Is 'First Step' Toward Greater Efficiency, CEO Whitman Says" to read the full article.
is whitman throwin up some kinda gang sign in that pic?
I'm still holding onto this piece of shit with an average cost in the low 30's. Damn it.
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