Dell Technologies joins the growing list of tech giants resorting to layoffs in a bid to weather the “challenging global economic environment.” The company plans to cut roughly 6,600 jobs, representing 5% of its global workforce currently estimated at 133,000.
In a letter to employees, Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clark acknowledged that previous cost-cutting measures were not enough and further restructuring is necessary to prepare for the future. This announcement comes after a period of restricted hiring, travel limitations, and reduced spending on external services.
The layoffs are expected to be completed by the end of April. This news follows a decline in Dell’s stock price, dropping 3.6% after the announcement and 31% over the past year.
Dell’s market share in the global PC market has also shrunk. They currently hold about 16%, down from 18% in the previous year, according to IDC. This puts them behind Lenovo (23%) and HP (nearly 20%).
Financial results for Q4 2022 paint a similar picture. Dell reported a 6% decrease in net revenue compared to the prior year, totaling $24.7 billion. Net income from continuing operations also saw a significant drop, falling from $3.6 billion to $241 million, representing a 93% decline.
Dell isn’t alone in this trend. Tech giants like Alphabet (Google), Amazon, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, and Twitter have all implemented layoffs recently after experiencing rapid expansion during the pandemic. Layoffs.fyi reports that U.S. tech companies have already cut over 67,000 jobs in 2023.
