back to article Dell EMC lifts the post-acquisition axe, swings

Dell Technologies' 140,000 staffers have been wincing in anticipation for the expected 2,000-3,000 layoffs after the $67bn EMC acquisition completed, and now the wait is over. The axe is swinging and heads have begun to roll. A person close to the events told us: "Almost 80 people have been terminated from the Hopkinton …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Mission College Boulevard is in Santa Clara, CA. Haven't heard of any further Hopkinton building closures.

  2. Just An Engineer

    : "While streamlining is never our first alternative, and we strive to minimize it as course of action, in a merger of this size it is necessary given some overlap in functions."

    I call BS. Overlap in functions are not design, development and engineering. That would be the marketing droids, and HR functions that are an "oeverlap in functions". Engineering no so much.

    They are eliminating folks from the higher paid locations, and will more then likely just keep everything in business friendly, (read Cheaper) Texas.

    At least there are jobs available in the Ma, and Ca areas for those affected.

    1. unredeemed

      I agree that marketing, AP/AR, finance, HR and various back office type roles are on the chopping block. I mean, where has there ever been a merger in the last decade of a publicly traded company that has not resulted in layoffs???? It's inevitable and required to maintain profits.

      But I disagree, that engineering can and does go on the chopping block in many cases too. from mid level managers, and in DellEMC cases, I assume products at the end of their lifeline, redundant roles, or roles that may be moved to Israel, Ireland, or China where there are significant resources and development offices for EMC there. It may be percentage points of the overall total, but no one is immune from corporate profits and shareholders.

      1. Notas Badoff

        "... and required to maintain profits."

        "... and required to attain the profits as promised in the prospectus given to investors justifying the buyout/takeover/merger."

        Not that anything in said prospectus was originally based on realities, but now that they've gotten the money and closed the deal, they've got to pretend they know how to get to that endpoint.

        Your blood on the swords shows they are "serious business people" (and therefore can't be blamed in the future for unexpected reverses (see 'reality')).

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Im surprised the number is so low

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      28,000 to 35,000 is low? Are you in DELL HR or PR?

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Dell: "...these numbers are inaccurate and overstated."

    Journalist: OK, what is the number?

    Dell: Zzzzzz

  5. Throatwarbler Mangrove Silver badge

    Hopefully...

    ...they whack whoever is setting the strategy for EMC Backup and Recovery, because those clowns have their heads wedged firmly in their own rectums.

    1. Just An Engineer

      Re: Hopefully...

      Agreed since that is where the cuts I know of have taken place.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Santa Clara

    The closing of the Santa Clara EMC buildings was announced in November, with people moving to the new Dell campus nearby. The leases on some of these buildings were due to end in a few months anyway, and it was announced well over a year ago that people in those particular ones would be moving elsewhere.

    That change and the redundancies are unrelated.

    1. Lou 2

      Re: Santa Clara

      As in we have less space snd too many people is unrelated.

  7. GrumpyOF
    Devil

    HR on the Chopping Block??

    Never could happen as they are the Executioners and if the numbers to go are big enough they will need even more Executioners.

    When it is over they all sit back, wash off the blood and pay themselves nice bonuses.

    How I wish for the days of a Salary Department!!

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Yet...

    Jeremy Burton still has a job there. #welldone

  9. doctorsuckit
    FAIL

    Hopefully Just Gettin' Started...

    Good to see they are starting to flush out the sewage pipes of worthless layers of nothing in Hopkinton and Santa Clara. Hopefully they aim for similar stuff in Atanta, Dallas, and Chicago. Let's also hope the axe doesn't stop until every "Senior Director of Looking Important and Traveling Senselessly on the Company Dime" is flushed out. Marketing, HR, product "managers", "presales" managers...drop the axe on 'em all and make them go get jobs where they actually have to PRODUCE results and not just focus on the company's cultish "personal branding" silliness.

    All the while VMAX3 - it's FLAGSHIP product and what started the company - shipped without FICON for mainframe...the very reason the thing was invented. But don't worry - it's the foundation of "Cloud"...that's why AWS, Azure, Google run so many of them- oh, nevermind.

    And keep shutting buildings down - I could never understand how the company could pay for leases on so many places that appeared to be 2% occupied throughout the day, other than to make the incestuous and conniving sales management feel important. It was a well run company - right into the arms of a mercy killing. Good riddance.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hopefully Just Gettin' Started...

      It was well-run till the management shifted from "Engineering First" to "Profits First", circa 2002 or so. Then the consultants descended upon Hopkinton and the goal went from doing-it-right to doing-it-just-a-little-better-than-#2, whoever that might have been at the time. At about the same point, EMC lost its laser focus on storage and started believing that "Software will be the way forward, and the more of it we own, the better off we are". Sigh. Hopefully Dell will correct that and get the company doing what it does best; storing and retrieving data.

      As to the buildings, though, most of them aren't leased; they're owned, and apparently there are tax incentives to non-occupancy. Never made much sense but you can bet the bean-counters knew exactly what they were doing.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hopefully Just Gettin' Started...

      The new Ficon VMAX3 architecture is slower (responding than even ancient DS88xx boxes that are themselves old architecture.

      Ask your Dell rep how many VMAX3 ficon boxes are in productionata large OLTP banking shops,,,,

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hopefully Just Gettin' Started...

      ^looks like someone got downsized! Don't fret - its their loss. IBM and HP both in history show how the mighty can and do fall. Dell time will come.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Day One Celebration - Phuck it.

    What the hell happened to the Day 1 celebration?

    I thought I we are in the tree of trust?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwwcMjlcxSc

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Just getting going with the axe. Pulling out of mainframe business this month. Sorry, 'restructuring' lol.

    Witness how many jobs were lost with the HP/CPQ merger. 10s of 000s over the years following merger. Oh, and then the once-proud business model failed leaving the miserable husks of once great business lumbering on, muttering about "its a software business. No it's a services business. No it's a Cloud business."

    Beware Dell EMC - early onset hubris. IBM got too big, tripped and fell. HP got too big, stumbled and fell.

    I guess the private investors will float/IPO again in 5 years, after extensive cost cutting, take their billions and leave DellEMC (DellemA?) to follow the other IT giants in history,

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon