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Dell has methodically reduced its headcount by about 10% over the past year, relying on hiring freezes and reorganizations rather than mass layoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In its latest federal filing, published this week and viewed by Business Insider<\/a>, Dell reported that it had about 97,000 employees as of January 31. The headcount indicates an 11,000-person decrease in the company\u2019s workforce from 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dell now has 36,000 fewer employees than it did in February 2023, marking a nearly 30% reduction over three years. Dell has not had a major layoff announcement since August 2024<\/a>, when it downsized by 12,500 employees.\u00a0<\/p>\n The tech giant indicated in the filing that it had cut costs this past year through \u201cemployee reorganizations, limitation of external hiring and other actions to align our investments with our announced strategic and customer priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are always assessing our business to remain competitive and ensure we are set up to deliver the best innovation, value, and service to our customers and partners,\u201d Dell said in a statement to Business Insider.<\/p>\n Dell repeatedly highlighted \u201crestriction on external hiring\u201d as a core cost-cutting strategy in the filing. By limiting hiring, the company was able to let natural attrition do more of the work and not hire replacements for employees who left voluntarily, shrinking overall headcount.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dell also implemented a five-day return-to-the-office policy last year, ordering all employees back to the office starting in March 2025. The policy resulted in attrition, as many workers looked elsewhere<\/a> for more flexible work structures instead of staying at the tech giant \u2014\u00a0 and the company did not replace those workers.\u00a0<\/p>\n The federal filing also acknowledged that the company had conducted \u201cemployee reorganizations\u201d or reshuffles to consolidate roles and remove layers that cut roles.\u00a0Dell did not, however, conduct a round of mass layoffs in 2025.<\/p>\n Mass layoffs have surged in recent years. In 2026 alone, Amazon laid off 16,000 workers<\/a>, Jack Dorsey\u2019s Block reduced its workforce by 40%<\/a> and software startup Atlassian cut the size of its team by 10%<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n CEOs are pointing to AI as the main culprit for these layoffs. For example, Dorsey wrote in a letter to shareholders<\/a> that \u201cintelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company\u2026 A significantly smaller team, using the tools we\u2019re building, can do more and do it better.\u201d<\/p>\n Layoffs in Silicon Valley don\u2019t seem to be slowing down anytime soon \u2014 Meta is reportedly planning to cut 20% of its workforce, or about 16,000 jobs, this year to offset AI expenses.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dell isn\u2019t making a big show of job cuts, but it is still quietly reshaping itself to get ready for an AI-powered future. The company is not overtly blaming AI for shrinking its workforce, and is not downsizing teams due to AI. However, in the federal filing, Dell wrote that it was committed to \u201ccost management in coordination with our ongoing business modernization initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n Inside the company, Dell is gearing up to streamline how it works. In May, the company is preparing to introduce a single enterprise platform called One Dell Way to consolidate workflows. In a January memo<\/a>, Dell leaders described the systems overhaul as the \u201cbiggest transformation in company history.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Dell has methodically reduced its headcount by about 10% over the past year, relying on hiring freezes and reorganizations rather than mass layoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n In its latest federal filing, published this week and viewed by Business Insider<\/a>, Dell reported that it had about 97,000 employees as of January 31. The headcount indicates an 11,000-person decrease in the company\u2019s workforce from 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dell now has 36,000 fewer employees than it did in February 2023, marking a nearly 30% reduction over three years. Dell has not had a major layoff announcement since August 2024<\/a>, when it downsized by 12,500 employees.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nHow Dell shrunk headcount<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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