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Dell cuts 1,700 jobs
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February 15, 2001: 12:15 p.m. ET
PC maker announces layoffs hours ahead of earnings release
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Dell Computer said Thursday it is laying off 1,700 full-time employees, or roughly 4 percent of its total work force.
Rumors that Dell would reduce as much as 11 percent of its work force have been circulating on the Street lately. The company had characterized that figure as "pure speculation," but never denied that it was planning at least some job cuts.
Dell said most of the layoffs would be made in its administrative, marketing and product-support operations at its central Texas facilities.
Many of the layoffs involve positions made redundant by the recent reorganization of several Dell business units, the company said. Others are being made as a result of Dell's lower expectations for industry and company growth.
The announcement came just hours before the company is set to report its latest quarterly earnings results. 
Dell, the No. 2 supplier of PCs, warned late last month that fourth-quarter earnings will be below previous expectations, forecasting a profit of 18-to-19 cents per share, compared with Wall Street's prior expectations for a profit of 25 cents per share.
The Street is looking for earnings to come in at the high end of that range, forecasting earnings of 19 cents per share on revenue of roughly $8.45 billion, according to a survey conducted by earnings tracker First Call.
The Round Rock, Tex.-based company, which historically has posted annual revenue growth in the 40 percent-to-50 percent range, has recently been reining in its revenue growth forecasts. When they reported third-quarter results last November, Dell executives said they are now aiming for annual revenue growth of 20 percent in the coming fiscal year.
Some brokerages, including Credit Suisse First Boston and ABN Amro, said Thursday they expect Dell to lower the bar even further during a teleconference with analysts later this evening.
At the end of its fiscal fourth-quarter 2001 two weeks ago, Dell said it employed 22,000 people in central Texas and 40,200 worldwide.
Dell (DELL: Research, Estimates) shares were up $2 at $24.94 in early afternoon Nasdaq trade, an 8.7 percent rise on the day. 
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