Dell to cut 6,500 jobs worldwide as Covid demand plummets

Dell Technologies, one of Ireland’s largest employers in the private sector, has announced it will lay off around 5 per cent of its global workforce as it grapples with a slump in the PC market and braces for a possible recession. It adds up to around 6,500 job losses worldwide.

The technology giant employs around 5,000 people in Ireland at its locations in Dublin, Cork and Limerick.

The company has not yet provided any information on how many jobs are at risk here. A 5 per cent cut in Irish jobs would result in around 250 people losing their jobs.

In a memo to Dell co-COO staff Jeff Clarke, the company said the company is experiencing market conditions that “continue to erode with an uncertain future.”

“Unfortunately, due to changes like these, some members of our team will be leaving the company. There is no harder decision but one we had to make for our long-term health and success. Please know that we will support those affected as much as they transition to their next opportunities.”

The decision to cut the number of positions follows earlier moves within Dell, including a pause in hiring external staff, limiting travel and reducing spending on outside services.

In a statement issued by the company, Jeff Clarke said: “We continually evaluate operations to ensure the right structure is in place to provide the best value and support to partners and customers. This is part of our regular course of business,” he said in a statement.

The latest cuts come as demand for new computers plummeted after skyrocketing during the Covid pandemic, as people rushed to gear up for remote work and training.

The cuts announced by Dell are part of a wave of job losses across the tech sector over the past six months and are among the smallest by percentage.

In recent weeks, Microsoft announced it would cut 5% of its total workforce by 10,000, today Google said it would lay off 12,000 employees, about 6% of the company’s global workforce. Salesforce is aiming to lay off about 200 employees in Ireland as part of its decision to lay off around 10 percent of its employees, and Hubspot, which has a large Dublin office, announced it would cut 500 jobs from its global workforce.

The last time Dell announced large-scale layoffs was when it moved production from its Limerick plant to Poland in 2009, resulting in the loss of more than 2,000 jobs, including some in Dublin but mostly in Limerick.

However, since that low the company has expanded with a large number of non-manufacturing jobs in Limerick, Dublin and Cork. Dell now employs more people here, at typically higher wages, than it did before moving its factory to Poland.