Dell to cut 200 jobs at city site

City and state officials expressed confidence in the future of Dell Inc.'s local presence after the company Thursday laid off about 200 Oklahoma City workers as part of a companywide restructuring.

Roy Williams, chairman of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, said about 10 percent of the local work force was laid off as the computer company eliminated the consumer sales division at its Oklahoma City site.

Dell spokeswoman Kathy Oden-Hall declined to discuss specific employee numbers, but said the layoffs affect "a relative small percentage of our overall population.” After the layoffs, Dell's employee numbers will "hover around 2,000; maybe a little more or a little less,” Oden-Hall said.

The workers were notified Thursday morning that their jobs had been eliminated, effective immediately. Dell offered the displaced workers "competitive severance pay,” career placement services and career counseling, Oden-Hall said.

"These decisions do not diminish the importance of Oklahoma City as a key strategic site for Dell,” Oden-Hall said. "All other business units located in Oklahoma City will continue operating and aligning their business to meet customer needs and business demands.”

From its inception until mid-2007, Dell has produced an economic impact of $631 million on the region, according to a Chamber of Commerce study from last year.

The restructuring will expand Dell's business technical support unit in Oklahoma City, Oden-Hall said. Current members of the consumer technical support group will join the growing business technical support unit, Oden-Hall said.

State Commerce Secretary Natalie Shirley said Michael Dell, chairman and founder of the computer company, said last year he expected to cut employee levels by about 10 percent as he reconfigured the company.

"There are ebbs and flows in all the businesses,” Shirley said. "For several years now Dell and Oklahoma City have been in what I would call a flow situation. They have added and added and added (jobs). Now we're seeing a little bit of ebb.”

Dell last year said the company would cut thousands of workers over 12 months to boost earnings after the company fell behind Hewlett-Packard Co. in PC sales.

"They love Oklahoma City,” Shirley said. "This is nothing more than a reflection of what Michael Dell was trying to do with the company.”

Mayor Mick Cornett said the local economy is healthy enough to absorb some job losses caused by a weaker national economy.

"I fully expect them, once this is allowed to settle, to once again be creating jobs in Oklahoma City,” Cornett said.

Dell on Thursday also announced it is shutting down 140 shopping kiosks that displayed and sold the company's products, laid off hundreds of Canadian call center employees and canceled the planned expansion of the Canadian center.

Dell, the world's second-largest PC maker, recently signed agreements with retailers to offer its computers in stores such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart. Those outlets would draw customers who otherwise might have contacted a Dell call center. Most Dell computers are sold online.

Oden-Hall said the company is seeking to "eliminate redundancies.”

State Sen. Andrew Rice, whose district includes Dell's customer contact center, said the layoffs show that the national economic turmoil places many local jobs at risk.

"That's why I hope that Congress and the president can agree soon on an aggressive stimulus package that includes an extension of unemployment benefits,” Rice said. "As these layoffs today remind us, rebates alone may not be enough to restore consumer confidence and get our economy moving again.”

The Dell center opened in October 2004 with 400 employees and was focused strictly on sales. The company dedicated its first 120,000-square-foot building along the Oklahoma River in September 2005 and later completed a second, similar building.

The makeup of Dell's business units in Oklahoma has shifted significantly since the center opened, Oden-Hall said. Technical support positions now outnumber those of sales, which now is limited to corporate sales.