Dell disputes 15,000 jobs cut rumours

Dell has quashed rumours that it intends to lay off a substantial portion of its workforce, in what is shaping up to be the company’s largest cost cutting exercise since the company went private last year.

Tech website The Register reported on Monday that the hardware maker is preparing to axe more than 15,000 positions, or almost one in seven employees worldwide.

Yet as speculation mounts in the industry, Dell has come out fighting, disputing the report.

Director of corporate affairs David Frink dismissed the layoff figure as inaccurate earlier in the, but confirmed that the vendor is restructuring its operations.

“Your story this morning reporting that Dell is laying off 15,000 employees this week/imminently is wildly inaccurate," he wrote. "I can confirm that a very small percentage of Dell’s global team members accepted the company’s recent offer of a significant severance package associated with a voluntary separation program."

Echoing Frink's comments earlier in the week, a spokesperson for Dell New Zealand told TechDay this morning: "Dell has taken steps to optimise its business, streamline operations and improve its efficiency over the past few years.

"As a result, a very small percentage of Dell’s global team members accepted the company’s recent offer of a significant severance package associated with a voluntary separation program."

"Meanwhile, we’re hiring in strategic areas of our business, including hardware and software development, engineering and customer coverage worldwide, and will continually review our operations in an effort to remain competitive and determine where we can add the most value to customers."

As reported by TechDay last month, many see the steps taken by Dell as a direct result of the sombre PC market, which is continuing to decline.

Some workers who have been issued pink slips will be eligible for two months’ salary, an extra week of pay for each year at Dell and a 75 percent bonus.

Internal emails leaked to The Register suggest that sales and support operations will be consolidated “under a single umbrella,” and that the company will focus on “simplifying client support structure – both basic and up sell.”