About 3,000 individuals identified as HP employees had posted anonymous reviews of the company to the careers website Glassdoor.com as of Wednesday. Overall, the company now has a 2.5 rating on the site's five-point scale.

Apotheker has a cumulative approval rating of 58 percent, based on 297 ratings. But his rating plummeted in recent months, to 25 percent in September, according to a Glassdoor.com spokeswoman. Apotheker had a 73 percent rating in July, before the PC spinoff plan was announced in August.

In contrast, at the time Hurd left the company, his cumulative approval rating was 34 percent. Both are well below the 62 percent average approval rating for CEOs on the site, the spokeswoman said.

HP CFO Cathie Lesjak, who served as interim CEO before Apotheker was hired, logged a 55 percent overall approval rating during her short tenure.

Ex-eBay CEO and current HP director Meg Whitman for an interim CEO post should Apotheker be removed.