Hewlett-Packard on Wednesday morning confirmed that it will be rolling its printer business into its personal computer unit to "improve performance and drive profitable growth."

As part of the realignment, long-time imaging and printing group head Vyomesh Joshi will retire from the company. Todd Bradley, who has served as the executive vice president of the PC group since 2005, will lead the newly combined unit, which will be called the Printing and Personal Systems Group.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP said the move will help streamline its market strategy, branding, supply chain, and worldwide customer support efforts. Together, the two business units had about $65 billion in sales in 2011, more than half of HP's total revenue last year. Rumors of the restructuring first surfaced yesterday on AllThingsD.

"This combination will bring together two businesses where HP has established global leadership," Meg Whitman, president and chief executive officer at HP, said in a statement. "By providing the best in customer-focused innovation and operational efficiency, we believe we will create a winning scenario for customers, partners and shareholders."

But some are questioning the move, saying it might hurt the company. Global Equities Research's Trip Chowdhry said HP's personal computer division "may destroy" its healthy printer division. HP has failed to innovate in the PC space — its computers lag behind Apple on screen resolution, design, and network technologies, Chowdhry said. The company is still thought of as a leader when it comes to printing, however.

"Instead of innovating, HP is masking the incompetency of the PC business, by merging it with the stronger printer business," Chowdhry wrote in a Wednesday note to investors.

But HP said the move will drive innovation across both units, and provide opportunities for cost-savings, allowing the company to pursue growth and reinvest in the business.

The news comes several months after HP reversed course and opted not to sell off its PC unit. In recent months, Whitman also decided to open source HP's webOS mobile operating system, which PCMag's Jamie Lendino said was "cause for celebration, at least for the enthusiast, developer, and phone hacker crowd." For more, see HP Makes WebOS Immortal.

HP had a rather tumultuous 2011; for more, see PCMag's Year in Review for HP, as well as the slideshow below charting the company's greatest hits.