Dell became the latest company to cut thousands of jobs, revealing in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it is slashing 5% of its workforce.
As of its most recent annual report, the company had approximately 133,000 employees. That means the cuts will impact roughly 6,650 people. Dell said it expects to record severance expenses in its fourth fiscal quarter of 2023, which began in late October and closed at the end of last month.
In an email to employees on Monday, Dell’s co-COO Jeff Clarke said the decision to slash its staff was taken once it became apparent that earlier efforts to pause external hiring, limit travel and reduce outside services spending were “no longer enough” to help the company respond to uncertain market conditions.
He added the company will be implementing some structural changes to reduce complexity and allow for faster innovation. The shifts will span its global sales organization, Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) and Client Solutions Group (CSG). In the ISG, Dell is shifting teams and resources to unspecified “priority offerings that will best serve our customers’ and partners’ needs.”
“Unfortunately, with changes like this, some members of our team will be leaving the company. There is no tougher decision, but one we had to make for our long-term health and success,” Clarke wrote.
The move comes after Dell confirmed to Fierce in September that it had implemented a “small number of targeted job reductions.” At the time, though, the company said it was still recruiting for specific roles needed to meet customer demands.
Dell is just the latest company in the tech and telecom space to shed employees. Here’s an incomplete list of some other recent cuts:
Amazon: 18,000 employees
Google: 12,000 employees
Meta: Ditched its Connectivity division and laid off 11,000 employees
Microsoft: 10,000 employees
Salesforce: Several hundred in November 2022, with another 7,000 announced in January
Cisco: Roughly 4,100 employees
Comcast: The operator confirmed it cut a small portion of its field org in November. Financial filings show its workforce shrank by 3,000 employees year on year in 2022, with its Cable division down 6,000 employees. Company executives said on an earnings call the change reflected the impact of a “voluntary retirement” program.
DirecTV: 10% of its workforce or a little less than 1,000 employees.
T-Mobile: Approximately 600 employees, including territory managers and indirect sales staff
Verizon: Laid off a “small number” of workers in October. Financial filings show its workforce shrank 1% year on year in 2022 to 117,100.