Dell layoffs have been widely rumored for almost a month now, widely reported, and seem very likely. What's even more interesting, and missing from the reports, was the news (which we can attribute to a quote at finance.yahoo.com) from Dell, and this is supposedly a quote via written statement back in Dec. 2013:
"Dell has announced an optional, global and voluntary separation program for eligible team members who choose to leave the company in exchange for the offer of a separation package to support their transition. Would note that we’ve taken steps to optimize our business, streamline operations and improve efficiency over the past few years. And we been consistent in saying that a critical element of our strategy has been, and always will be, about improving our cost structure and freeing up capital to make the investments in growth areas that matter to our customers.
Like any prudent company, we’ll continue to evaluate and implement opportunities to enhance our operational effectiveness on an ongoing basis.
We won’t have additional comment about the program, the number of Dell team members taking advantage of it or the cost involved."