Dell to lay off over 6,000 employees amid ‘uncertain market future’

Dell becomes the latest company to lay off thousands of employees. Today, the computer maker announced it is cutting about 6,650 jobs, or 5% of its global workforce amid what it describes as amid ‘uncertain market future.’ The company has been struggling in recent months due to a slump in the personal computer (PC) market caused by the global economic slowdown and a looming recession.

Dell had introduced several cut-cutting measures including a hiring freeze and limits on travel as the company dealt with a post-pandemic collapse in PC sales, which account for more than half of its revenue.

In a memo to employees, co-Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke said that these measures are “no longer enough.” He also added: “What we know is market conditions continue to erode with an uncertain future.”

Commenting on Dell’s layoff report, Susannah Streeter, a markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown said: “It was only a matter of time before the wave of tech layoffs reached Dell’s shores, given how sensitive the company is to both consumer and corporate confidence.”

Dell now joins a list of other tech companies that have announced layoffs in recent weeks including Autodesk, PayPal, and Salesforce. In January, Microsoft also said it would lay off 10,000 jobs instead of the 11,000 reported by major news outlets. In addition to the layoff, the Redmond-based company also said that it would take a  $1.2-billion charge as its cloud-computing customers dissect their spending and the company braces for a potential recession. The layoff is far larger than the 1,000 job cuts the company announced back in October 2020.

With just four weeks into 2023, more than 292 tech companies have laid off 88138 tech workers, according to Layoffs.FYI, a site that has been tracking all tech layoffs using data compiled from public reports.