Dell Lays Off 8,000 As 1Q Earnings Fall

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Associated Press

Dell Lays Off 8,000 As 1Q Earnings Fall

Thursday May 31, 5:01 PM EDT

DALLAS (AP) — Dell Inc. said Thursday that earnings fell slightly in preliminary first-quarter results, but the computer maker planned to lay off more than 8,000 employees over the next year as part of an ongoing restructuring.

Dell said it earned $759 million, or 34 cents per share, in the three months ended May 4. That compared with $762 million, or 33 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

First-quarter sales rose nearly 1 percent from the year ago period to $14.6 billion.

Analysts, on average, expected earnings of 26 cents per share on sales $13.95 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.


Read more: http://money.excite.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt_top.jsp?news_id=ap-d8pfjg0o0&

[Lerkfish]

1. DUDE! I'm not buyin a Dell!!!

[question everything]

2. Indeed, there has always been that different view

Mac - innovation

Dell - marketing

[Deja Q]

8. Let's not go there.

Mac = PC + TPM chip + slightly modified open source OS.

They also took Xerox's original GUI (and mouse) and sold it originally as the Lisa (for only $10,000) and whittled down things to make the affordable Mac, but the keyboard had cost extra for the earlier models. Now that's innovation! (sounds more like marketing...) :eyes:

[Tesha]

9. You make these claims, you get corrected, you make them again...

You make these claims, you get corrected, you make
them again... Lather, rinse, repeat.

Your credibility is shot.

Tesha

[AlCzervik]

3. Mac user here but i feel for those who lose their jobs, that just sucks.

no one wins here.

[IChing]

6. My nephew has worked for Dell for 10 years

started in shipping and now handles corporate accounts.
I hope he is not affected.

His sister uses an apple iBook even though he gets a discount.

[AlCzervik]

7. well i hope for the best for him, sending out the good vibes.

my husband has been in high tech forever and he has been through so many layoffs, he's been working for Apple since 2000 and hopefully he'll remain there for another 20 years.

[napi21]

4. I suppose they're too stupid to realize the reason sales fell!

I can tell you, I just bought a new computer.. My son said Dell makes a good one. I responded "Yes that's true, but they have the WOWRST customer service in the industry!" He agreed with that, and guess what? I DIDN'T buy a Dell!!!!!

FWIW I bought an HP because they have online chat customer service. I know all the mfg's are outsourcing their CS to India, but at least with online chat, I don't have to worry about understanding someone with a heavy accent, and they don't have to listen to me continuously saying HUH, WHAT, say again, I can't understand you!!!!! They all seem very capable of reading english, and I am too, so I LOVE their CS, and it's good for as long as you have your computer!

So, Dell guys...you can lay off as many employees as you want, if you don't improve your CS, your company will continue to fall to total failure!

[Deja Q]

5. 8000 more jobs to come in India?

People aren't buying because they can't afford a new PC.

Dell's reputation over the years has dropped as well. Poor quality components lead to premature malfunction; people do not want to spend good money on cheaply made junk.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

10. Yep. When the economy is in a downturn

People are more careful of what they spend their money on. Dell's products aren't the top of the line and their customer service leaves a lot to be desired. With more consumers doing research before buying a new computer those are two crucial areas that have cost Dell sales.

[kineneb]

11. more offshoring

Those jobs are probably indeed going to India, or where ever they can find the cheapest labor.

As to computers, I believe in recycling, so I just got an off-lease ThinkPad T30 for $400 (shipping included). With a P-4 2.2GHz it is perhaps not the fastest machine around, but it will do everything I want, especially since I loaded Ubuntu Linux on it. And if my old 600e is any example, it will last forever (Hubby "inherited" it). There are some quite good deals on slightly older hardware.