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Dell tells staff: If you haven't got stomach for private era, leave

Launches Voluntary Separation Programme for fence-perchers

Privately owned Dell has told staff that might not share senior management's "passion and enthusiasm" for the next era that they better shape up or ship out… with a wedge of cash in their pockets.

A Voluntary Separation Programme (VSP) was coughed yesterday as confirmed in an email from CFO Brian Gladden and Steve Price senior veep for HR, which was seen by us.

"We hope you share in our passion and enthusiasm for Dell's exciting next chapter. It's going to take everyone's hard work and commitment to become the leading provider of end-to-end scalable solutions and deliver for our customers," the memo stated.

"However, for those that believe this is not a good fit, we're offering a Voluntary Separation Programme, where allowed by local law and with ELT [Dell's Executive Leadership Team] approval," it added.

People working in the Software Group will not be allowed to join VSP, neither will folk with vice president in their title, nor exec/ distinguished directors in engineering or employees in India or Singapore.

Workers in EMEA will not be eligible in this VSP but "might be considered for implementation at a later date, and in accordance with local laws, regulations and practices".

Those who want to want to walk on a voluntary basis must get their applications in between 2 and 20 December. Dell will tell people selected for redundancy in mid-January and exits will then be arranged.

Dell did not indicate how many people's departures it is planning for as part of the VSP or if a compulsory plan will be initiated in due course should it not get a requisite number of applications.

Though a PR representative at the Texan PC baron did say it is trying to save cash. We have included the statement in full.

"A critical element of our strategy to become the leading supplier of end-to-end solutions provider will always be about improving our cost structure and freeing up capital to make the investments in the growth areas that matter most to our customers.

"We continuously evaluate and implement opportunities across Dell to improve our operational effectiveness and allocate our resources. When necessary, we’ll continue to make tough decisions to help ensure our long-term success – some of these decisions may affect our workforce.

"The VSP is not related to the company going private – it’s part of our overall Productivity initiative to get in a competitive cost position. We won’t have additional comment about the program, the number of Dell team members taking advantage of it (locally or regionally) or the cost involved."

Since striking a $24.9bn deal to take Dell private again, the company has rejigged some senior execs and waved goodbye to president Steve Felice.

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