Dell is to eliminate 6,650 jobs because of the decline in demand for personal computers.

The cuts are going to hit an estimated 5 percent of its workforce.

Also, Zoom, the video conferencing company, is laying off 1,350 staff, which is expected to affect 15 percent of its 6,300+ workforce.

The company has seen profits dwindle following slow user growth.

Since their 2020 peak, their shares have plunged more than 80 percent.

What does these cuts mean for the tech sector, and how should leaders react?

Laura Baldwin, President at O’Reilly 

“It’s easy to get caught up in the news of the day, especially with so much coverage over tech layoffs recently. I believe tech companies are downsizing right now because their pace of hiring was too fast in the last few years and in order to hire during a very tight labour market, they overpaid for talent.

“As we enter a new year, the annualised cost of those decisions becomes very apparent and unsustainable, forcing those companies to reset. However, if we look at other economic indicators, unemployment rates continue to be very low, the number of open roles still outpaces the available labour pool, and inflation appears to be cooling in recent reports. All hopeful signs.

“As a leader, I think it’s important to focus on the long term, and with the transformation that’s taking place in how people work coupled with technological disruption through generative AI, there’s likely to be a great deal of opportunity.

“Like all leaders, I’m managing to meet the moment which means proceeding with caution over the next six months, but if I look farther out, I’m optimistic that the change the world is undergoing right now will present a great deal of opportunities for the leaders that plan for it and position their businesses and teams for the future.”

 

 

 

 

Amelia Brand
Amelia Brand

Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.