Impact of Dell layoffs on Oklahoma City operations still uncertain

Two weeks after Dell announced employee layoffs throughout the company , no clear indication of the impact on its Oklahoma City office has been made available.

About 1,600 employees were reported to be working for Dell in 2022 at its facility at 3501 SW 15. The company employs 12,000 worldwide. Despite numerous inquiries by The Oklahoman, Dell's media relations team in Oklahoma City declined to share current employment numbers or the extent of the share of the companywide reduction.

The number of employees affected or set to be affected by this month's layoffs remains unclear. Dell's media relations team declined to share additional information concerning the layoffs in several emails exchanged with The Oklahoman.

A Dell employee who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to comment on the layoffs said the recent cutback affected a co-leader of the office, several managers and "many" salespeople. The employee said the Oklahoma City office has served as the company's western U.S. sales office since it began operation in 2004. A colleague, the employee said, characterized the layoff as "the worst he had seen in 17 years." The employee added that those affected by the layoff sign a "non-disparagement agreement," as a condition of receiving severance pay.

One indication that the OKC impact of Dell's cutback may be relatively modest lies in the fact that under federal law, a written notice must be sent in advance to local governments and others when a company employing 100 workers or more plans to lay off more than 50 employees or more than 33% of its staff. This requirement is part of the Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act issued in 2003.

"These notices are typically sent to the U.S. Department of Labor’s State Rapid Response Dislocated Worker Unit and the chief local elected official, which in this case would be the Mayor of Oklahoma City," said Elizabeth "Liz" Searock, governmental and public affairs director for the Oklahoma Department of Labor. "This process ensures that the appropriate local authorities and support services are informed if there is a significant workforce reduction or facility closure."

Oklahoma mayor, state official did not receive WARN notice from Dell

The Oklahoma City mayor's office did not receive a WARN notice from Dell, Chief of Staff Steve Hill said.

Cody Cox, vice president of field operations for the Oklahoma Department of Employment Security Commission, said his office did not receive any notice either. Cox's office is the designated "Rapid Response Dislocated Worker Unit" and would have been required to receive notice.

Also, Dell did not send any notices to the state Workforce Commission in Texas, where the company is headquartered, said Sarah Fisher, press officer for the commission's Office of Communications and Media.

Despite federal requirements, lack of a WARN notice is not necessarily definitive, said David Crow, external communications manager for OESC. He said large corporations rarely disclose WARN notices and tend to avoid disclosing staff reduction figures for local offices.

"A company, like a large company, who employs tens of thousands of people will go, "You know what? We are laying off 50 people, [so]'re we're not going to base that number on how many are employed just in Oklahoma, or just in one spot," he said. "We're not going to qualify for a notice. A lot of this just really varies from incident to incident."

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Oklahoma City has given $16,808,015 to Dell developments total in tax incentives, most of which were used for site preparation and infrastructure within tax increment financing districts 4 and 5 in the early stages of the development, said Joanna McSpadden, the city's economic development program manager. In turn, Dell benefitted the city by adding more jobs to the local labor force.

The city collected $1.4 million in revenue and left no outstanding debt, mostly from property taxes, last year from TIF 4 and TIF 5. Revenue collected from Dell developments increased slightly from $1.25 million in 2022.

"What I will say is that we have a cash balance in that TIF," she said. "So, we've actually recently funded another project ... a housing development just south of that Dell site."

The impact of the layoffs on the city's revenues from those TIFs would not be calculated until a year from now, she added.

WARN notices lack uniformity

Tracking layoffs, especially at larger companies, has become a difficult task for federal, state, and local regulators, who depend on WARN notices to prepare on-site rapid response teams and ensure workers are being treated fairly through the transition of layoffs, Crow said.

Crow added that few, if any, consequences exist for firms failing to file WARN notices to state officials, which causes inconsistencies in how layoffs are communicated to employees and government agencies, complicating support efforts.

"We follow federal law in terms of WARN notices, so if people are concerned with the process or whatever and that, that's more of a question for the federal government," Crow said, adding that requirements vary by circumstance and companies often determine how to communicate layoffs to government officials.

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Crow said he believes the lack of consensus regarding advanced written notices of layoffs is a more of a federal issue than in the state.

"I remember, this was several years ago. We got more notice for an employer to say they were letting go one person, like, they didn't need to let us know, but we appreciate it," said Crow.

Crow said the role of the OESC is to help affected employees connect with community resources and find new opportunities, acting as "community matchmakers".

"What we're doing when we do these services is just to educate the public at the end of the day," Crow said. "It's just something to let people know what exists where it exists and what is available to help them."

Crow said those affected by layoffs can find support information at OESC's website: http://www.oklahoma.gov/workforce.html .

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Impact of Dell layoffs on Oklahoma City operations still uncertain