Dell has announced it is to close a desktop computer manufacturing plant in the US early next year, laying off 905 workers, as part of an attempt to streamline its business as its copes with declining sales and market share.
Dell, which earlier this year shed 1,900 jobs at its manufacturing plant in Limerick, is in the middle of an effort to wring out $4 billion in cost savings by the end of fiscal 2011.
Nearly 60 per cent of the company's revenue comes from PCs, which have been severely impacted by the global economic downturn. The firm is highly reliant on hardware sales to businesses, which have drastically cut back on spending.
Dell posted a 22 per cent decline in revenue in the July quarter, while net income fell 23 per cent.
The PC manufacturer trails Hewlett-Packard Co in the PC market, and is feeling the pressure from Acer, which has been gaining market share.
According to industry tracker IDC, Dell's shipments fell 17 per cent in the calendar second quarter. Its market share stood at 13.7 per cent.
The closure of the Winston-Salem facility in North Carolina is expected to be completed in January, Dell said late yesterday. About 600 of the affected employees are expected to be laid off next month.
Dell had around 76,500 regular employees at the end of January 2009, down from 82,700 a year earlier.
Reuters