Dell to lay off 6,650 workers, or 5% of its workforce

Dell on Monday announced plans to lay off 5% of its workforce, or about 6,650 employees, according to an SEC filing. 

The cuts at Dell come as demand for PCs and laptops has slowed globally. Global shipments of PCs were down 28% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to industry analysts at IDC. Computer shipments at Dell were down 37% for that same period, while competitors Lenovo, HP and Apple were down 28%, 29%, and 2% respectively.

Shares of Dell were down 2% early Tuesday.

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 changes Dell had already implemented, like limiting travel, pausing external hiring and reducing outside services spending, were no longer sufficient. 

“Unfortunately, with changes like this, some members of our team will be leaving the company,” Clarke said. “There is no tougher decision, but one we had to make for our long-term health and success.” 

As of Jan. 28, 2022, Dell had 133,000 total employees, according to a company filing with the SEC.

In the memo to employees, Clarke said Dell has navigated economic downturns before, and “emerged stronger” as a result.

“We will be ready when the market rebounds,” he wrote.

The company’s layoffs announcement marks the latest round of job cuts in the tech industry, as PayPal announced plans to cut 2,000 jobs Tuesday. Earlier this month, Google announced plans to lay off more than 12,000 workers, Microsoft announced plans to cut 10,000 employees and Salesforce announced plans to lay off 7,000 workers.