Dell Computer Corp. will lay off 1,700 full-time employees to cut costs because of soft global economic conditions and overall demand for computer systems, the company said Thursday, hours before it is due to release its fourth-quarter financial earnings statement.
The cuts will affect positions mostly in administrative, marketing and product support functions in its central Texas operations, Dell said in a news release. Many of the reductions involve positions made redundant by the recent reorganization of several Dell business units, the company said. Others, meanwhile, are the result of Dell’s lower expectations for industry and company growth. Reductions are being made at all organizational levels, the company said.
As recently as two weeks ago, Dell employed 22,000 people in central Texas and 40,200 worldwide. Operations in middle Tennessee and international locations are not affected by the announcement. Rumors that Dell would announce layoffs have circulated for weeks.
Dell, in Round Rock, Tex., can be reached at http://www.dell.com/.