Hewlett-Packard (HP) may back off from its previous announcement to spin off its PC business unit if CEO Leo Apotheker is ousted as is being reported, according to notebook makers. HP is expected to ship 37-38 million notebooks in 2011.

Growing concerns over the prospects of HP's PC unit have pushed some channel operators to switch their orders to other brands, including Acer, Asustek Computer, Dell and Lenovo, the sources noted.

Acer apparently has benefited from the shift in orders as the company has placed higher than expected orders to ODM partners recently, the sources pointed out.

HP's ODM partners, including Quanta Computer, Inventec, Wistron and Foxconn Electronics, as well as users will regain their confidence in HP if the company decides to call off the spin-off plans, the sources commented.