High hopes for HP print
unit
Aug 05
Hewlett-Packard
(HP) has announced a shake up of its imaging and printing unit, with VJ Joshi,
EVP of the printer group, aiming to double the unit’s revenue within a decade.
Joshi, who has headed the printer group since its division from the
company’s PC unit in June, has been reducing investment in basic products and
has increased expenditure in potential growth areas, such as digital photography
and publishing.
On 12 July, the company unveiled faster inkjet technology that reduces photo printing time
by half. It has also announced a photo printing deal with the Walgreen drugstore
chain.
As well as splitting the PC and printing units, new CEO Mark Hurd
is also carrying out restructuring at a larger level as part of a wide-reaching
strategy to cut costs. HP has announced it will cut 14,500 jobs – about 10 per
cent of its full-time staff – over the next six quarters.
It is hoped
that the job cuts, which will mostly come in support funtions such as IT, human
resources and finance, will save the company $1.9 billion annually and increase
efficiency to the same levels as rival
Dell.