New iPod nano - NOW shoots video. “Computer maker Dell Inc. plans to lay off 700 workers from its Malaysian plant in northern Penang state in a bid to cut costs,” K.P Lee and Yun-Hee Kim report for The Wall Street Journal.

“The layoffs, which represent about 16% of its total work force of 4,500 in the country, will take place from January through June, Dell’s senior manager for corporate communications, Jasmine Begum, said Wednesday,” Lee and Kim report. “Ms. Begum said the layoffs are necessary as the company relocates the production of its computer laptops for the U.S., Canada and Latin America markets from Penang to other cheaper production facilities.”

“In the fiscal third quarter ended Oct. 31, Dell’s profit fell 54% despite signs of a recovery in the technology sector and while rivals such as Hewlett-Packard Co. saw profit growth,” Lee and Kim report.

MacDailyNews Take: HP’s net earnings for its fourth fiscal quarter ended Oct. 31, 2009 rose 14% year-over-year, however, in PCs, HP’s revenue declined 12%. Notebook revenue for the quarter was down 8%, while Desktop revenue declined 16%. A better example would have been Apple, whose Mac sales rose 17 percent YOY to a new record of 3.05 million units and whose net income grew 18 percent.

Lee and Kim report, “Dell has fallen behind its competitors in personal computers. It now ranks third behind Hewlett-Packard and Taiwan’s Acer Inc.”

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Soon, Mikey will run out of places to cut. SIDAGTMBTTS.

Related articles:
Why beleaguered Dell is doomed – December 07, 2009
Beleaguered Dell’s profit craters, plunges 54 percent; weak numbers miss Wall Street forecasts – November 19, 2009
Beleaguered Dell closes last U.S assembly plant; axes 905 full-time jobs in NC eschewing tax breaks – October 07, 2009
Beleaguered Dell’s earnings plummet 23% as sales fall across all of its business areas – August 27, 2009
Beleaguered Dell warns of decline in second-quarter gross margins – July 14, 2009
Beleaguered Dell’s terrible track record in ‘gadgets’ – July 01, 2009
Beleaguered Dell faces grim outlook – May 29, 2009
Beleaguered Dell’s PC sales sink 34%, net income plummets 63% – May 28, 2009
Beleaguered Dell’s 4Q net plummets 48% as shipments swoon and margins continue to deteriorate – February 26, 2009
CNBC’s Jim Goldman on beleaguered Dell: ‘The company’s a mess and will continue to be’ – February 26, 2009
SIDAGTMBTTS: After losing global lead, beleaguered Dell slipping in U.S. – February 06, 2009
JPMorgan downgrades beleaguered Dell; shares slide – February 05, 2009
Beleaguered Dell shares plummet on warning – January 29, 2009
Beleaguered Dell settles with at least 46 U.S. states over misleading customers – January 13, 2009
Beleaguered Dell cuts 1,900 jobs in Limerick; to cease box assembly in Ireland – January 08, 2009
Heads roll at beleaguered Dell – December 31, 2008

Apple now worth sextuple Dell’s market value – October 20, 2009
Apple now worth quintuple Dell’s market value – February 12, 2009
Apple could buy Dell outright; Mac-maker has more cash on hand than Dell is worth – October 21, 2008
Apple now worth quadruple Dell’s market value – May 01, 2008
Apple now worth triple Dell’s market value – December 06, 2007
Apple now worth double Dell’s market value – July 27, 2007
Steve Jobs emails Apple team: Michael Dell not the best prognosticator, Apple worth more than Dell – January 16, 2006
Apple now worth more than Dell – January 13, 2006