The head count at computer giant Dell is set to be the lowest in six years after the company confirmed it has axed more than 6,600 jobs – the latest in a string of big tech layoffs.
In a company memo posted to the Dell Technologies Blog titled ‘Preparing for the road ahead’, the organization’s co-chief operating officer, Jeff Clarke, said the business was experiencing market conditions that “continue to erode with an uncertain future”.
He added: “Unfortunately, with this kind of change, some members of our team will be leaving the company. There is no more difficult decision, but one that must be made for our health and long-term success.
Approximately 5% of the company’s workforce will be affected by layoffs.
A spokesman said fortune that the company previously rolled out a raft of cost-cutting measures, which is just not done enough.
He added: “Dell is constantly evaluating our business to ensure we are prepared to deliver the best innovation, value and service to our customers and partners. This is especially important given the continued economic uncertainty.”
“Since June, we have paused external hires and reduced spending to navigate the challenging global environment. We have more opportunities to improve efficiency through the reorganization of departments, which has led to a reduction in team members across the globe. This is a difficult decision that is not made lightly, and we will support those affected as they move on to the next opportunity.
Determined to find the silver lining, Clarke added that the company had weathered these storms before and “emerged stronger”, adding: “We will be ready when the market rebounds. The opportunity in front of us is huge.
Clarke’s blog also reveals which teams will undergo changes in the coming months, pointing to the Territory Sales team and Dell Technologies Select (DTS) as the teams that will be “aligned”.
The end of the PC boom?
However, compared to other markets, Dell has the furthest to recover.
The company is succeeding in the PC boom linked to the pandemic, as employees and school children have to find ways to work and study from home.
Dell was named by technology researcher Gartner as one of six brands to cash in as the sector saw the fastest growth in 20 years.
Dell shipments accounted for 69.9 million laptops and desktops still shipped in the first quarter of 2021.
However, there has since been a major decline as staff return to their offices and students to their desks.
According to IDC data, Dell has experienced the biggest drop in shipments between Q4 of 2022 and Q4 of 2021 compared to its main competitors.
Dell moved 10.8 million units in the last quarter of last year and 17.2 million in the same period a year earlier, a drop of more than 37%.
Comparatively, Apple has weathered the storm well, as it grew just 2% from 7.7 million units to 7.5 million 12 months later.
Another company that has announced layoffs?
At this point, it may be easier to identify companies that haven’t announced job cuts than those that have.
Last week Salesforce announced the second round of cuts that have eliminated 10 percent of its families in January 2022. fortune reported its “#all-salesforce” Slack channel went from about 82,500 members on February 1 to about 80,600 today, hinting that 1,900 workers may be cut.
Google’s parent company Alphabet made a similar announcement last month.
On January 20, CEO Sundar Pichai announced that the company will be laying off around 12,000 people with one employee on maternity leave saying that she discovered her job had been axed when she was feeding her baby daughter in the middle of the night.
At the end of January PayPal also admitted the need to cut 2,000 employees, about 7% of the workforce.
At the end of January, Spotify announced a 6% reduction in its workforce, with CEO Daniel EK saying that he took “full responsibility” for the problems that led to the news, adding: “Like many other leaders, I hope to support the strong tailwinds of pandemic and believe that our broad global business and lower risk for the impact of a slowdown in advertising will isolate us. In hindsight, I am very ambitious to invest before our revenue growth.
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