Tech giant Dell layoffs 5% of its Global workforce amid recession fears and an economic slowdown
Dell Technologies announced that it will lay off about 5% of its global workforce, as the company prepares for an expected economic downturn. The Round Rock-based tech giant plans to lay off around 6,650 employees. According to filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Dell had 133,000 total employees as of last year.
The company did not immediately provide details about where the cuts would occur or how many jobs would be lost in Central Texas but did state that they would affect teams worldwide. Dell has paused external hiring since June and reduced spending to “navigate a challenging global environment.” Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, HP, IBM, Cisco, and Salesforce are already among the tech giants that have announced thousands of layoffs recently. Dell Technologies’ stock price dropped after the Dell layoffs were announced. The company’s co-chief operating officer said the company has already made some cutbacks, such as allowing less business travel, freezing external hiring, and reducing spending.
Dell said in a regulatory filing earlier that the reduction amounts to about 5% of the company’s global workforce. Dell is dealing with market conditions that “continue to erode with an uncertain future,” according to Co-Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke in a memo obtained by Bloomberg. According to a March 2022 filing, only one-third of Dell’s employees are based in the United States, according to a Bloomberg report. Dell is expected to provide more details on the financial impact of the layoffs when it reports its fiscal fourth-quarter results on March 2nd. “We’ve been through economic downturns before, and we’ve always come out stronger,” Clarke wrote in his note to employees. “When the market recovers, we will be ready.” Dell has joined a growing list of tech giants that have announced mass layoffs in recent months. Facebook parent company Meta laid off approximately 11,000 employees in the latter half of last year, and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted at additional layoffs as recently as last week. Furthermore, Meta, Microsoft laid off approximately 10,000 employees last month, while e-commerce giant Amazon laid off 18,000 employees. Google, too, announced layoffs for approximately 12,000 employees last month. HP is also among the tech giants cutting jobs, having announced layoffs for approximately 6,000 employees late last year. Twitter has laid off more than half of its workforce since billionaire Elon Musk took over in late October last year.
