Dell closing US plant, cutting 900 jobs

October 08, 2009 03:48:21 PM

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US computer giant Dell announced on Wednesday that it was closing a desktop computer manufacturing plant in the United States nextyear and laying off some 900 workers.

Dell said it expected the closure of the plant in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to be completed in January 2010.

The company said "approximately 905 employees" would be affected and about 600 would be released next month.

"This is a difficult decision, especially for our North Carolina colleagues, but a necessary one for Dell customers and our company," said Frank Miller, vice president of Dell's public business unit supply chain.

In a statement, Dell said the move was "part of an ongoing initiative to enhance the long-term value it delivers to customers by simplifying operations and improving efficiency."

Earlier this year, Dell shifted its Ireland-based manufacturing operation to Poland.

Dell's net profits have been on the decline recently and it has announced plans to trim four billion dollars in costs by the end of fiscal 2011.

The Texas-based company is the number two personal computer maker worldwide after Hewlett-Packard and lost its top spot in the US market to HP in the first quarter of the year.

The Gartner research group said last month that the global computer market is showing signs of recovery, with sales forecast to decline just 2.0 percent this year, much better than a June prediction of 6.0 percent.