Dell, Motorola Slash Jobs

Computer maker Dell and technology giant Motorola are both looking to reign in costs by slashing jobs.

Both computer maker Dell and technology giant Motorola are looking to firm up their bottom lines by reducing the size of their workforces. Motorola revealed in an SEC regulatory filing that it will cut an additional 2,600 positions, bringing the total number of jobs it has cut since the start of 2007 to about 10,000. In the meantime, Dell says it plans to cut more positions on top of the 8,800 it has already put on the chopping block as the company looks to reduce its expenses by as much as $3 billion by 2011.

Motorola recently announced it will be spinning off its struggling mobile handset business into a separate company; Dell recently announced it will be closing a desktop PC manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas, and eliminating the 900 jobs there.

One irony of the two companies’ announcements: the person responsible for turning around Dell’s consumer computer business is Ron Garriques, who used to head up Motorola’s handset business.

Dell has been struggling to regain its top position among PC manufacturers, following a length investigation of the company’s finances and renewed competition from a re-invigorated Hewlett-Packard. In an analyst meeting, the company indicated it believes it will take another year for Dell to be cost effective with other PC manufacturers; in the meantime, it is aggressively pursuing new retail and business markets, including overseas opportunities.

Motorola’s job cuts will cost the company some $104 million and will cut across the company’s business segments. Although the cuts amount to about four percent of the company’s employees, some analysts believe Motorola still has too many people and will have to eliminate more positions as it tries to get back on its feet.