From our product team, almost everyone is gone except a tiny handful. The product is basically dead. I’m hearing bit cuts from other groups too, though not as extreme as ou
Is this just a headcount reduction exercise? If so, what happens to new product development or even basic maintenance? Do VP/SVP really think AI tools can replace entire teams, or have they just given up and started trimming ISG to make it look cleaner for a sale?
Anyone up in the food chain have any thoughts on this?
My take on why the layoffs continue is Dell, like many other technology companies, needs to desperately build out its AI infrastructure. More power and liquid cooling needs. More GPU needs. And the ability to carry the weight of these new racks and servers (legacy locations / labs cannot support). That is driving colossal dollars to be spent. I think they are trading heads to fund this.
It’s a combination of things.
Headcount reduction because it makes the company look leaner / increases profits which drives income for the C suite and other senior execs.
Some of the execs genuinely believe that AI is replacing employees, others are cynically going along with it because it will bump their $$$ in the short term and they can go wreak damage somewhere else before the lack of new product releases or the drop in quality comes back to bite them.
And Bain certainly could be considering structuring a breakup of sorts (Dell Storage, Dell Servers, Dell Consumer Products, ???) though that’s not obvious.
Well let’s see. MD networth:$150 billion. JC networth: $600 mill. SD networth (independent from MD) $2.5 bill. Most directs reporting to MD networth range from $25mill to $125+ mill. Either the culling is to prep for sale or they are delusional thinking AI is the great savior and can replace humans. Eventually AI will be more expensive than humans, so my guess is sale.
@OP No offense, but if you have to ask that question, you really don't belong working in high tech.
What product are you with and I'll tell you the exact details why?
For most ISG products, they're no longer competitive. They're no longer ROI positive. They don't innovate. They don't release on time. They have major quality problems when they do release. Customers are moving to technologies Dell missed the boat on by a mile - i.e., Cloud.
Dell leadership are not technical and don't understand the market. They're swinging the AI pendulum as far as they can despite the fact that Dell doesn't really have any organic AI solutions or contributions to speak of.
Bain is cleaning house to get ready to sell pieces/parts to anyone willing to buy before MD retires. If all of that is not clrystal cear to you, you do not belong here.
Greed and power. There are a handful of puppet masters who want to control the world. Oligarchs and technocrats if you may. We are nothing but cogs in the wheel of their machine and they couldnt care less about you. Its always been this way. Its just now obvious because they aren't even trying to hide it anymore.
I see a acquisition coming in the next 6-12 months to fill in the gap of bad product innovation (specifically in the storage area). The RIO on the EMC purchase is gone the crown jewel VM - sold off. The layoffs / WFR's are a result of holding the bag of a bloated old company & its products that have fallen behind the competition. Many will scoff at this, but the reality is true dell does not have a highly profitiable storage business anymore, due to bad decision that go back many years.
its all about numbers. ride the AI bubble to pump stock as high as they can before the end of the party.
Greed. We have a set of non technical politicians (I refuse to call them leaders) at the top. They’re not technical at all and firmly believe this. They’re a greedy set of pricks who deserve to get cancer.
"new product development". Dell doesn't do this, it doesn't have the capability anymore.