Hewlett-Packard to split business

Hewlett-Packard is poised to become the latest technology firm to split into two entities by separating its computer and printer businesses from its corporate hardware and services operation, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

The Journal reported on its website that the California company could announce the split as early as Monday, citing individuals familiar with the matter.

The move follows a trend of technology firms and other corporations splitting their businesses into separate companies, based on the belief that tightly focused firms perform better, the Journal reported.

Last week, US online retail giant eBay unveiled plans to spin off PayPal in a move designed to help the unit compete better in the fast-moving online payments segment.

The Journal said under the planned split, current HP chief executive Meg Whitman would be chairman of the PC and printer business and chief-executive of the separate enterprise company.

Dion Weisler, an executive in the PC and printer operation, is to be chief executive of that streamlined business, the report said.

HP is undergoing a massive reorganization to cope with the move away from traditional personal computers to mobile devices.

The California company said in May that it was cutting an additional 11,000 to 16,000 jobs on top of 34,000 reductions planned under a program begun in 2012.