Dell Workforce Realignment Rumored

By Kara Murphy, contributing writer, Integrated Solutions For Retailers

The computer company could be looking at reducing staff redundancies

Dell, the world’s No. 3 supplier of PCs, might soon announce it is trimming its sales workforce by 20 percent or more as it streamlines newly acquired product lines. The company— which went private in 2013 — released a statement that neither confirms or denies the rumored news of impending layoffs: “Dell continuously evaluates and implements opportunities to improve our operational effectiveness and allocate our resources. When necessary, we’ll continue to make tough decisions to help ensure our long-term success — some of these decisions may affect our workforce. We are committed to building upon our multi-channel approach to serving customers — channel, online, and direct — and are investing in sales coverage and training.”

The Register reports, however, that the company will downsize its sales department by 20 percent in the United States and 30 percent of sales and marketing jobs in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Dell, which has been in business for more than 26 years, was taken private in a $24.9 billion deal in October with CEO Michael Dell and equity firm Silver Lake Partners.

As Dell integrates the product lines of the companies it bought out over the last five years, staff could be seen as redundant in some circumstances, Pund-IT analyst Charles King theorized to ComputerWorld. He said he believes the sales staff could be targeted for layoffs. Dell, has 111,300 employees, but has not specified how many of those positions are dedicated to sales and marketing, making it unclear how many positions could be lost.

Overcoming Operational Challenges With Workforce Management Technology

Want to publish your opinion?
Contact us to become part of our Editorial Community.