Dell is offering its US corporate customers zero per cent financing to encourage them to buy more products in what has been a tumultuous year for the computer giant.

The company is blaming the recessive economy for the decision, but it told The Register that – for now at least – there’s no plan to extend the financing deal to Europe.

"It's really a bit more than just saving dollars on the monthly budget. It's enabling them to procure the equipment," said Dell Financial Services general manager Larry Graves, according to Reuters. "We think it just gives them more options and flexibility."

Dell said it will lower prices on some models from its product line of Latitude E-series laptops, as well as on its PowerEdge servers.

The computer vendor, which in the past year or so has been realigning its business strategy by climbing into bed with the channel, said it would also offer deferred payment plans to some companies.

Round Rock, Texas-based Dell saw a three per cent sales drop in its third quarter results last week, as demand from nervous biz customers has fallen in the face of a weakened economy that’s gearing up for a tough, recession-biting 2009.

It’s also been attempting to cut costs by liberally swinging the axe at its workforce, amidst the firm’s painful restructuring process at CEO Michael Dell’s helm.

The company has already shed at least 8,800 jobs since 2007.

Dell shares, which have lost nearly 50 per cent of their value in the past year, are currently trading at $10.8, up 3.55 per cent on Nasdaq. ®

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