HP Virtualization Journal on Ulitzer

HP is close to moving its printer unit into its PC unit according to an unconfirmed, unattributed piece in the Wall Street Journal Tuesday, which would mean redoing what CEO Mark Hurd undid when he got there to shake the Carly dust off the company.

The reorg reportedly just needs Hurd's imprimatur.

The move would apparently turn printer chief VJ Joshi, who brought in a third of HP's sales and 70% of its profits a mere five years ago, into a "Man without a Country."

Printers aren't growing the way they used to and are now down to 21% of HP's sales and 30% of its profits though Hurd has maintained that printing will increase post-recession.

Printers are still HP's biggest profit contributor but services bolstered by Hurd's $13.9 billion acquisition of EDS are now the company's star.

The Journal thinks Joshi, a holdover, may leave to become somebody's CEO.

HP's once barely profitable PC unit, which has trashed Dell of late and, as the Journal says, "has managed to remain more profitable than competitors even as computer prices have plummeted," is run by the former CEO of Palm Todd Bradley, a guy Hurd brought in.

Bradley pushed PCs from less than 5% of profits to 12%.

People are still scratching their heads wondering about the benefits of the supposed reorg. Barron's figures a lot of jobs will go and quotes Thomas Weisel analyst Doug Reid as theorizing that the move might fetch HP better operating margins by 30-60 basis points by FY 2012 by better integrating its supply lines.

The San Jose Mercury News says it doesn't make sense since HP is pushing managed print services.