We cover tons of laptops from Dell, laptops that cost as much as two-months rent, and now the aforementioned company is set to cut about 6,650 jobs representing 5 percent of its global workforce, according to a report from Bloomberg (opens in new tab) (via The Verge (opens in new tab)).
Dell Co-Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke announced in a memo (opens in new tab) on Feb. 6, 2023 that, apparently, cost-cutting measures like pause on hiring and limitations on travel has not helped because “market conditions continue to erode with an uncertain future.” Dell’s revenue in 2022 was $101.6 billion.
The choice to layoff thousands of people was reportedly informed by a 37 percent decline (opens in new tab) (via IDC) in Dell’s computer shipments during its recent holiday quarter compared to the previous year (opens in new tab). Bloomberg reports that 55 percent of Dell’s revenue (opens in new tab) is generated from PC sales.
I’m not the best at math, but even if Dell lost half of its revenue in an absolute worst case scenario, that’d still make them a multi-billion dollar company. However, Clarke claims that the job cuts are essential for Dell’s “long-term health and success.”
According to Bloomberg, the number of global Dell employees will be at its lowest figure in six years, with 39,000 fewer roles compared to the 165,000 full-time roles reported in January 2020.
Of course, Dell isn’t the only multi-billion dollar company laying people off in these “economic downturns.” HP announced planed to cut around 6,000 jobs in November 2022, while Lenovo laid off an undisclosed number of its US workforce in December 2022.
If you work or worked at Dell, Lenovo, HP, or any of the above companies, and would love to talk about your experience there, please reach out to me via email or Twitter, which can be found in my bio.