‘We are combining teams and prioritizing where we invest across the company. We continually evolve our business, so we’re set up to deliver the best innovation, value and service to our customers and partners,’ Dell Technologies said in a statement.

Dell Technologies is cutting some sales jobs and adding others, as it reorganizes its business for the AI era, to become “leaner” and focused on growth.

“Through a reorganization of our go-to-market teams and an ongoing series of actions, we are becoming a leaner company,” the company said in a statement released Monday afternoon. “We are combining teams and prioritizing where we invest across the company. We continually evolve our business, so we’re set up to deliver the best innovation, value and service to our customers and partners.”

The company is not releasing the number of employees it is cutting in this most recent round of layoffs. Last year, Dell eliminated 13,000 jobs in two rounds of cuts. The company’s total headcount fell from 133,000 to about 120,000.

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The Round Rock, Texas-based technology giant’s annual sales came in at $88.4 billion for the 2024 fiscal year, off 14 percent from a year before and $13.5 billion less than its record $101.9 billion haul in 2022. Dell’s most recent fiscal year ended Feb 2, 2024.

The second round of layoffs last year coincided with a new go-to-market announcement, called Partner First For Storage, which it debuted in August.

The move incentivizes Dell’s own core sellers to move storage deals through the channel. CEO Michael Dell and other leaders inside the company have praised the shift as a way to form closer relationships with channel partners.

Gary McConnell, CEO of Dell Platinum partner VirtuIT Systems of Nanuet, N.Y., told CRN on Monday that he views Dell Technologies’ layoffs as a sign the company is engaging more with partners. He also is encouraging those cut to look to the channel for jobs.

“We’re reading this as Dell leadership truly committing to leaning on their channel partners more; they’ve added incentives and are now reorganizing resources,” he said. “There’s uncertainty whenever restructuring happens, but we’re hopeful that those impacted will land in the channel and help us continue to drive customer value through Dell.”

Those who were affected by the layoffs took to social media to report about the job cuts.

A 15-year Dell veteran in the role of new seller experience and engagement coordinator, assisting new sellers in the ramp-up process, posted on LinkedIn on Monday that she was looking for a new position due to a recent layoff. “It has been a remarkable journey filled with growth, learning, and unforgettable experiences,” said the Dell veteran.

A nearly six-year Dell veteran in the role of federal sales coach providing training to Dell Federal Sales reps in the channel and distribution said she was also laid off in a post on LinkedIn

“I was impacted by a work force reduction,” said the Dell veteran in a LinkedIn post. “While I am devastated to leave the people I coach, train, work with and know there, I am looking for a new role and would appreciate your support.”

C.R. Howdyshell, CEO of Advizex, a Fulcrum IT Partners company and a Dell Titanium partner, said that Dell Technologies has long signaled its intent to become a leaner company that will rely more heavily on channel partners.

“We are seeing stronger Dell channel engagement in all areas of the business from commercial to enterprise to new logo acquisition,” said Howdyshell. “Dell’s channel commitment is stronger than ever even with this restructuring. This is part of a bigger picture Dell has laid out to reduce its headcount.”

Advizex, in fact, has seen a marked increase in both Dell Apex consumption-based deals and AI-based deals. “More and more customers are looking to spread out their costs with multiyear opex deals,” said Howdyshell. “We have seen a significant uptick in Apex opportunities. It’s more important than ever that we provide an option for a single bill, pay-as-you-go, consumption-based service for every deal.”

Advizex recently closed a five-year, $20 million-plus Apex deal that effectively makes Dell and Advizex the strategic cloud provider for the customer, said Howdyshell. “That deal is a total Apex solution that includes Cisco and Equinix with Advizex services and managed services,” he said.

Howdyshell complimented Dell Channel Chief and Senior Vice President of North American Channel Sales Gregg Ambulos for providing strong channel partner engagement and leadership. “Gregg has stood out as a channel leader at critical times for Dell,” said Howdyshell.

Dell’s Chief Partner Officer Denise Millard spoke with CRN on Monday about how a reorganization of the 40-year-old company will benefit the firm and partners as they seek to capitalize on what she said is a $2 trillion-plus market opportunity.

“As we have grown over the years, we have had various organizations that needed to be brought together to promote better and faster collaboration,” Millard told CRN. “We have different selling organizations sitting in different areas. Pockets of marketing. Pockets of services. What we have done as part of what’s happening starting today is we are streamlining all of that.”

Millard said in this case, Dell is recognizing that GenAI is making some substantial changes to the world and the way that technology environments all operate.

“I think it’s pretty well known that the way that people buy, and this new generation of buyers are much more informed,” she said. “They’re looking to do business with partners who can help them unlock the value to modern IT and AI.”