Over 10k jobs gone in the last FY (http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/blog/techflash/2015/12/dell-cut-thousands-of-jobs-in-past-fiscal-year.html). It's become a culture of layoffs and downsizing. Michael has to figure out how to pay down the debt. You can only do this two ways - cut costs or grow revenue. There is no plan/idea/play to increase revenue so the only way left it to cut cost. If you look at the people who do work (non management/non executive), they've cut the fat, cut the muscle, and are now doing searches in the bone marrow for anything else they can cut. Executives and upper management are still growing and being promoted. The sales force is increasing but with nothing compelling to sell, revenue continues to fall. Trying to grow via acquisition is like a dying star trying to stay alive by consuming the planets around it. It'll buy a little time but eventually, the star will go nova and explode. Dell is following the same path.
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Ain't sound very good.
As long as you can hide in management and worship the cult of Michael Dell you may survive a while. I have never worked anywhere that tries the same strategy over and over though it fails each time. Upper management is famous for trying a failed strategy making a big splash , laying off employees to get themselves promoted then moving on from the project and letting it die... some of the most worthless leadership I have ever seen. No one in the upper management understands anything but PC's, the few mid level leaders that know networking etc are sequestered and kept from moving up while those above keep kissing upwards and blaming the sales force when quote's aren't met although the product bag is old, tired and focused on PCs and servers the only lines the AE's understand. There are more qualified sales people holding over lay roles but they get treated like red haired step children and ignored until they leave or get laid off.
This is very true, if you are at the top you are sitting pretty. They play musical chairs over there, moving around and getting promoted. If you are not at the top you are screwed, but this is kind of similar to the wider social trends where guys at the top have everything while the middle is melting away.
Executives and upper management are still growing and being promoted.