Joe Tucci - CEO, EMC and Michael Dell - CEO, Dell
Dell Technologies could cut between 2,000 and 3,000 jobs following the completion of the US$67 billion merger of technology giants, Dell and EMC, according to reports.
The reductions are expected to hit this year, and are aimed at helping the new combined entity to realise cost savings of up to US$1.7 billion in its first 18 months following the merger, according to sources familiar with the company’s plans, Bloomberg reported on 9 September.
According to the report, the sources suggest that most of the potential job cuts will occur in the United States, and affect areas such as supply chain and administrative positions, along with some marketing jobs.
While Dell Australia is remaining tight-lipped about whether the reported job cuts are likely to affect its Australian workforce, the company has conceded that the merger could potentially affect staff numbers, even as it looks to hire new employees across its international footprint.
“As is common in deals of this size, there will be some functional overlap where employee reduction will occur,” a representative for Dell Australia told ARN in a statement. “That being said, we expect revenue synergies will outweigh any cost synergies, and revenue growth drives employment growth.
“We have no plans for restructuring. We are also hiring in all locations, globally,” the company said.
According to Bloomberg, the post-merger entity has about 140,000 employees.
The merger of the two tech titans, touted as the largest of its kind, was finalised on 7 September, creating the world’s largest privately-controlled technology company.
Although the reported job cuts suggest the company is planning to deal with operational overlap, in part, through employee reduction, some of its new subsidiaries expect to largely maintain staff numbers.
Security company, RSA, which, as a subsidiary of EMC is now a Dell Technologies business, expects to retain its operational footprint in the local market and further afield, despite some overlap between its security solutions and those of Dell.
“We’ve got a really strong leadership team, and we’re expanding our team locally,” Antoine Le Tard, general manager of RSA Australia and New Zealand, told ARN. “While there are opportunities for efficiency gains, in my experience, rationalisation often occurs across the back-end of a business.
“Efficiencies can come through the consolidation of systems, as well as other things,” he said.
