Dell-aying the Inevitable

by James Schlegelmilch

This past Friday Dell announced to its employees that they would be able to keep their jobs through the month of July, as it begins to see an increase in computer sales.  Previously, employees at the Winston-Salem factory were told that they would be out of work come late April, and before that employees expected to be out of work at the end of this past January.

Dell officials said that employees at the computer factory reacted to this announcement with “great enthusiasm”, as they were told the company needed the production capability for longer than they had anticipated.

While this announcement is being touted as “good news” for the Triad economy, it is just another temporary escape for the remaining employees who were able to survive last year’s massive downsizing.  It was almost one year ago that Dell announced the layoff of hundreds of local employees due to decreased demand in the face of the recession, just a couple of years after building and staffing the new facility.

Dell’s move to North Carolina has been wrought with turmoil since its inception.  The state offered the Dallas-based company an incentive package valued at more than $280 million in order to attract the business to build its factory here.  That move was met with groans from across the state by those saying that incentive package was too large.  Then, just a few years later layoffs hit, and while Dell said that the layoffs were felt across the company, the impact was felt particularly hard on employees in the Triad.

Dell’s continual delay of the closing of the Winston-Salem factory is not doing any of its employees any favors.  If anything, it just provides a glimmer of false hope to those who were able to survive last year’s cutbacks, and will prevent them from looking for more stable employment elsewhere on the slim chance that this factory could recover.

Surely, the company can use excess capacity at any of its other factories to handle the recent, slight increase in demand.  Postponing the inevitable shut down of this factory is unfair to the remaining employees who need to move on.  This move also lets the public know that Dell’s concern is not with the well-being of those that they employ, but rather making sure their financial goals are being met.

Photo Source: Kevin