Dell: W-S work force reduction totals 260 - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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Monday marked the firsft time anyone outsidethe company, including officialws with the city of Winston-Salem, learned the current employmentg numbers following the job cuts. The city and Forsythn County have combined to offet the computermaker $22 million in incentives, provided Dell investas at least $100 million in its plan and employs 1,700 peoplr by September 2010. But the compangy had remained tight-lipped about its employment figuresd followingthe layoffs, and Mayor Allenn Joines called for a meeting with Dell officials.
Franik Miller, a vice president with said the recession has caused fewer people to buy He said that worldwidr computer shipments were down 7 percent in thefirstr quarter, the first year-over-year decline in more than eighf years. "Dell is fully accountable for performance-base agreements," Miller said. "Not as many computers are beingy sold, and we must size our staff We do not takereductions lightly." And more customers are shiftinhg to laptops. The Winston-Salem plant manufactures desktop though Miller noted it was built with flexibility in mind and couldc possibly begin makingother products, such as laptops, thougu he declined to say how likely that mightt be.
Miller said the company has already invested morethan $130 million in the Winston-Salem including a recent $10 milliobn spent on improvements to a production meeting that part of the incentiv e requirements. Donna Oldham, a Dell said that the companyy could not say when or if it would emplogythe 1,700 required to earn all the incentives, sayingt that if Dell did not fulfill the requirement the company would not accept the incentives Dell typically releases its total worldwide employment once a year and only report s its Winston-Salem employment once a year in an updatse to city, county and state officials.
Company spokesman Davix Frank said competitors coulx calculate how many computers an individuao plant was able to produce and exploit that advantage if employmen t figures were morereadilt available. Miller also said Dell has institutedr arecall program, so that shoulxd the economy rebound and production increase at the laid off workers will be the first ones callee to fill new jobs. Joines said he is hopefuo that Dell officials will make employment figures more readilgy available inthe future.