Dell Layoffs Continue
Posted by JamesB in Business News, Triad News, tags: Dell, LayoffsA bit late on this story but that’s mainly because the facts are just not there as to how many people have in fact been laid off. Reports vary however it appears the number is as high as 200 which is on top of the 300 in March. In our earlier post we reminded everyone of the at least $320 million state and local governments gave Dell to come to North Carolina at a time when Dell’s margins were getting thinner and thinner. Since that time Dell has remained silent on their employment numbers and is seeking to sell it’s Triad plant.
Of course our Government Officials who so quickly gave away those millions have been about as silent as Dell. Mayor Joines finally stepped up as pressure on the city council has increased and apparently asked Plant Manager Mehran Ravanpay come before the city’s Finance Committee next month. That meeting should be set for Monday, May 11th Committee Room #239, City Hall and this meeting is open to the public. It shall be interesting to see if Mehran shows up in the first place but I’m not holding my breath any real information will be delivered. I think Mayor Joines may be living in fantasy land a bit if he truly believes the City and Dell are in any type of partnership, this is BUSINESS, plan and simple.
"I think we’re going to remind him that we’re in a partnership here, with the city and county being part of this, and even though we’re well protected from an agreement standpoint, the public has a right to know about what’s going on there," Mayor Allen Joines said yesterday. (Journalnow.com, April 4, 2009)
Financially Dell has been selling notes on long term debt offerings. They recently announced another round of $500 million to add to the $1.5 billion it has already sold. Although it’s stock price has rebounded, along with the market in general, from it’s low of under $8 a share in February to a closing on Friday of just over $11 Dell like all PC makers are feeling the hurt as consumers are just not buying. Between “the downturn”, Vista’s lackluster appeal and Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 7 PC sales have been dropping and continue to stay well below yearly averages. The one bright spot the so called Netbook of which Dell has multiple models sells for as low as $300 so one can guess at how many Netbooks Dell would have to sell to payback that debt.
By the way if you have any information on Dell’s employment numbers please do write us back. We have heard numbers below 500 but our math puts it more likely around 800.