Dell CEO Michael Dell delivers a keynote address throughout the 2013 Oracle Open World conference on September 25, 2013 in San Francisco, California.
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Dell on Monday announced plans to put off 5% of its workforce, or about 6,650 employees, in line with an SEC filing.
The cuts at Dell come as demand for PCs and laptops has slowed globally. Global shipments of PCs were down 28% yr over yr within the fourth quarter of 2022, in line with industry analysts at IDC. Computer shipments at Dell fell 37% for that very same period, while competitors Lenovo, HP and Apple were down 28%, 29% and a couple of%, respectively.
Shares of Dell were down 3% early Monday.
In a memo to employees, Jeff Clarke, co-chief operating officer at Dell, said the cuts were made in an effort to “stay ahead of downturn impacts.” He said the moves Dell had already implemented, like limiting travel, pausing external hiring and reducing outside services spending, were not sufficient.
“Unfortunately, with changes like this, some members of our team might be leaving the corporate,” Clarke said. “There isn’t any tougher decision, but one we needed to make for our long-term health and success.”
As of Jan. 28, 2022, Dell had 133,000 total employees, in line with a company filing with the SEC.
Within the memo to employees, Clarke said Dell has navigated economic downturns before, and “emerged stronger” in consequence.
“We might be ready when the market rebounds,” he wrote.
The corporate’s layoff announcement marks the newest round of job cuts within the tech industry, as PayPal on Tuesday announced plans to chop 2,000 jobs. In January, Google revealed plans to put off greater than 12,000 staff, Microsoft disclosed plans to chop 10,000 employees and Salesforce announced plans to put off 7,000 staff.
Correction: Google, Microsoft and Salesforce announced layoff plans in January. An earlier version misstated the month. Dell’s shares were trading Monday. An earlier version misstated the day.
