Dell Panama announced yesterday that it is consolidating sales operations for small and medium businesses and commercial sales in Latin America here in Panama, while consumer sales in the region will be consolidated in El Salvador. The decision entailed the dismissal of a certain number of partners not disclosed by the company, but according to those affected, close to 400 employees have lost their jobs while other existing staff were transferred to different posts. "As part of this transition, we are expanding the Small Business and Commercial group in Panama. Similarly, some consumer sales operations in the United States are being consolidated into other areas within the Dell network," said Mercedes Morris, corportate communications manager for Dell Panama. In June 2007, Dell Computer Corp. announced that it was reducing its global workforce by 10 percent in a new attempt to bring down costs. At that time, the company had a global work force of more than 88,000 employees and expected to shed 8,000 jobs over 12 months.
Following this announcement, it seemed that Dell Panama, with its 2,000 employees, would be one of the divisions affected by the new policy. However, the company has given assurances that Panama is an "important" site for them, and it has no intention of moving its operations from the country.
The Ministerio de Trabajo y Desarrollo Laboral reported that Article 212 of the Labour Code allows companies to lay off workers who have less than two years of continuous service. If the length is more than two years and the employee disagrees with the measure, he can appeal to the Ministerio de Trabajo, said the Nacional de Trabajo, Rodolfo Stanziola.
The company established itself in Panama five years ago, and then enlisted personnel trained to respond to the service needs of clients. "Our goal is and always will be to put partners involved in transitions like this in other positions within the company, where possible, to provide opportunities for professional development and retain our talent," said Morris. Similarly, the second largest manufacturer of computers reported yesterday that it will close its plant in Austin, Texas, in expectation of saving $3.3 million within three years. The plant closing involves the dismissal of about 900 employees.
