News : Hewlett-Packard to reorganize printer business

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will reorganize its printer operations, trimming its five business units to three in a bid to become more efficient, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The announcement was made in a Webcast to employees on Wednesday by print division chief Vyomesh Joshi, the newspaper reported in its online edition.

The changes will consolidate HP's laser-jet and commercial-printer units into one, change the head of the graphics unit and combine the ink-jet and consumer-supplies units.

The printing division has already eliminated hundreds of jobs in its offices in Idaho, Oregon and Washington State, but the company said the new move would not result in large-scale lay-offs.

The printer business has long been one of the company's largest profit centers, but consumers and businesses have become less reliant on printing in recent years.

The printer unit earned $2.38 billion over the first two fiscal quarters.

(Reporting by Matt Daily, editing by Will Waterman)