Dell Technologies has announced a significant reduction in its workforce, with a 10% cut reported for fiscal year 2025. According to the company’s latest annual report, employee numbers have decreased from approximately 120,000 in the previous year to about 108,000 as of 31 January 2025.
This reduction is part of Dell’s broader strategy to manage costs amid an evolving technological landscape. Actions taken include limiting external hiring and reorganising current staff to better align with strategic priorities.
Despite these significant changes, Dell said that it will maintain its commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace environment. “We are committed to equal employment opportunity and continuing to implement inclusive policies that enable Dell to achieve these goals”, said the company. This commitment comes at a time when diversity and inclusion initiatives face scrutiny, with US President Donald Trump questioning their impact and legality.
In the previous fiscal year of 2024, Dell had already experienced a workforce decrease of approximately 5%. A report from Bloomberg in August 2024 anticipated further reductions as the company shifted its focus towards developing products and services centred around AI. The scale of these job cuts was not precisely disclosed. However, estimates suggest that up to 12,500 positions could be affected.
As per the annual report, investment remains a key component of Dell’s strategy moving forward. Through its venture capital arm, Dell Technologies Capital, the company plans to continue exploring opportunities in emerging technology areas. These include storage solutions, software-defined networking, security enhancements, machine learning and AI advancements, big data analytics, cloud computing innovations, and improvements in software development operations. Such investments are aimed at complementing Dell’s existing portfolio and ensuring competitiveness in rapidly evolving markets.
As part of this strategic focus, Dell reported holding investments in non-marketable securities valued at $1.5bn as of 31 January 2025. This figure marks an increase from the $1.3bn recorded on 2 February 2024. These investments represent Dell’s commitment to nurturing early-stage technologies that may not yet have commercial value but hold potential for future growth.
Financial projections for fiscal year 2026
In financial projections released in late February, Dell forecasted a dip in its adjusted gross margin rate for fiscal year 2026. This anticipated decline is attributed to higher costs associated with manufacturing AI servers in a highly competitive market environment. While demand for AI-driven infrastructure continues to grow, these increased production expenses pose challenges to Dell’s profitability. Additionally, its personal computing business faces ongoing pressure due to weak consumer demand.
Looking ahead to fiscal year 2026, Dell expects an overall revenue growth of about 8%, with earnings projected between $101bn and $105bn. The company forecasts non-GAAP diluted earnings per share at $9.3, which exceeds analyst estimates. For the first quarter of FY 2026 alone, revenue is expected to range from $22.5bn to $23.5bn with non-GAAP EPS reaching $1.65.
Read more: Dell predicts lower margins in FY26 as AI infrastructure costs increase
