Hewlett-Packard have announced that they are going to keep their PC division rather than selling it off following the appointment of a new chief executive.
The Silicon Valley firm have confirmed however that they will begin to close the webOS department that they originally purchased for $1.2 billion in April 2010.
Since the sacking of chief executive Leo Apotheker last month Hewlett-Packard have been busy changing priorities under the stewardship of Meg Whitman.
This has resulted in the firm announcing that Apotheker’s decision to sell off the PC division has been reversed, although his surprising decision to scrap the HP TouchPad tablet after only 48 days of being on sale appears to have been vindicated.
Meg Whitman gave a statement on their website saying: “HP objectively evaluated the strategic, financial and operational impact of spinning off PSG.
“It’s clear after our analysis that keeping PSG within HP is right for customers and partners, right for shareholders, and right for employees. HP is committed to PSG, and together we are stronger,” the statement concluded.
Analysts have been broadly supportive of Whitman’s announcement, proving that it shows firm leadership. The analysts were though surprised with the company’s original decision to try and sell off the PC division in the first place.
Whilst it is the least profitable part of Hewlett-Packard, the PC side of the company is the biggest in the world and has 17.7% of the global market.
Hewlett-Packard’s decision to cease production of the tablet and smart phone technology will result in jobs being lost with staff either expected to receive redundancy or be switched to a different area of the company.
