Dell to lay thousands of staff off as working from home declines

LAPTOP maker Dell is cutting thousands of jobs as the pandemic’s working-from-home boom ends.

The US technology company said it would lay off 6,650 jobs – about 5pc of its workforce – warning that market conditions “continue to erode with an uncertain future”.

Dell, founded by Michael Dell in 1988, is valued at around $30bn (£25bn). It sells consumer laptops, desktop PCS and monitors, as well as IT software and infrastructure aimed at businesses.

The tech giant enjoyed a surge in revenues and profits during the pandemic as spending on personal computing and IT gadgets soared. But demand for new PC hardware has been falling as businesses call staff back into the office, while consumers are spending less on gadgets amid the economic slowdown.

Data from analysts Counterpoint showed global PC shipments fell 27.8pc in the final three months of 2022. Counterpoint added that Dell’s market share of global PC shipments had fallen to 16.7pc, its lowest in more than two years amid the slowdown in laptop sales.

Revenues in Dell’s client solutions division, which includes its consumer and business laptop and PC sales, fell 17pc in the final three months of 2022.

Dell said: “We’ll support those impacted as they transition to their next opportunity.” Other IT giants have begun staff cuts in response to a slowdown in consumer and business demand for new PCS and IT hardware.

In November, HP said it would reduce its headcount by around 6,000, or about 12pc of its headcount. IBM, which makes mainframe PCS for businesses, said last month it would cut 3,900 jobs, or about 1.5pc of its people.

Jeff Clarke, Dell’s chief operating officer, said: “We’ve navigated economic downturns before and emerged stronger. We will be ready when the market rebounds.”

Mr Clarke said Dell needed to go further to cut costs, having already limited travel and perks for employees.

Shares in Dell fell by around a third in 2022 amid a sell-off in technology stocks as the pandemic-fuelled demand for digital technology waned.

US lay-offs hit a two-year high in January, with technology giants cutting back post-pandemic. However, despite 100,000 US workers losing their jobs, the economy remains close to effective full employment, with jobless numbers at their lowest in close to half a century.