Dell Technologies has announced that it plans to let go of 6,650 employees, about 5 per cent of its global workforce. the development has come as the company saw a decline in demand for its personal computers (PCs). 

The company is experiencing market conditions that "continue to erode with an uncertain future," co-chief operating officer Jeff Clarke wrote in a memo to employees, Bloomberg reported. It was added in the memo that previous cost-cutting measures like bringing a pause to hiring and putting limits on travel are no longer sufficient. 

Clarke reportedly added in the note, “We’ve navigated economic downturns before and we’ve emerged stronger...We will be ready when the market rebounds.” 

After the Covid-19 pandemic struck, there was a spike in PC and other hardware sales for Dell as well as other tech majors. However, according to preliminary data reviewed by industry analyst IDC, PC shipments were said to fall sharply in the fourth quarter of 2022.  

Dell, which generates about 55 per cent of its revenue from PC sales, saw a decline of 37 per cent in 2022 as against the same period of the previous year. The fall in demand for Dell PCs was the largest among major PC makers, IDC observed.

Tech layoffs have been making headlines in the past few months with several tech giants like Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta announcing mass layoffs. Other PC markets players like HP, Cisco and IBM also announced mass layoffs recently with the former letting go of as many as 6,000 employees while the other two handed out pink slips to around 4,000 staff members.