Dell to cut 200 jobs at city site
‘They love Oklahoma City. This is nothing more than a reflection of what Michael Dell was trying to do with the company.' Natalie Shirley, state Commerce secretary
Dell to cut 200 jobs at city site
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By Don Mecoy
Published: February 1, 2008
Modified: January 31, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Modified: January 31, 2008 at 11:47 pm
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.
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Reductions no surprise
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.
Kiosks are closed
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.
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I got my last day's pay deposited into my bank account on Wednesday, when I went to HR I was told it was a payroll mistake and not to spend the money because it would be withdrawn when they found the mistake etc. They said it happened to everyone with automatic deposit. Then I was told yesterday that's my last paycheck not a mistake.
Here is how I found out yesterday. I was off yesterday out running around town, shopping etc. When I came in I had a message from Dell on my answering machine informing me I was let go and that DHL would deliver my paperwork to sign sometime next week to my home. They laid me off over the answer machine! What poor taste, even AOL was better to us than that, they gave us 2 months notice. The real crappy thing? I was looking online at the news stories about the layoff and some were printed hours before I found out on my machine. They left my message at 7:32 PM and the layoffs were on the 6 o'clock news last night.
So yes while all of you say "It's only a small percent of the workforce", or "the OKC job market is good etc." Remember it took me 6 months to get a decent paying job last year after hundreds of resumes and interviews. I took a couple of small paying jobs along the way because I am a single mother who has 3 children to raise, but it was very difficult for me.
I enjoyed working at DELL and the pay for me to start was good (if still about 25% less than what I made at AOL) and the benefits were good, it's too bad they have zero respect for their employees. I have no idea about the $8-$9 an hour jobs at Dell. I received close to $20 an hour to start because of my previous experience.
You have a lot of nerve declaring what a "real" job is and about making blanket statements about Oklahoman's work ethic. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have been able to attend school for 5 years to become an engineer. Does that mean they should be denied the opportunity to have a career in some sort of sales position like at Dell? I work in development services and do not think that any job is unwelcome, and the income that any job brings has the capabilities of springboarding more jobs that you consider "real" as the market expands for services.