The cuts, which the company said will primarily affect employees in Texas, were widely anticipated as PC sales have decimated the bottom lines of most computer manufacturers.
Dell has combated the slowdown by cutting prices - a strategy that has allowed the company to gain market share but forced the company to reduce costs.
Along with announcing layoffs, Dell said it will meet previous guidance of US$8 billion in revenue and per-share earnings of 17 cents for its first fiscal quarter, which just ended.
In addition, the company will require most employees to take unpaid time off in the second quarter, similar to moves already made by Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microystems.
"Reductions will occur at all organisational levels. Affected employees are eligible for competitive severance packages and extensive career counseling and outplacement assistance," the company said in a statement.
The layoffs will be achieved through consolidating sales and marketing departments, eliminating management layers, and sharing internal support resources. Manufacturing facilities in some instances will also be consolidated, Dell said. In a similar reorganization, Compaq combined its corporate and consumer PC divisions.
Financially, Dell will take a US$250 million to US$350 million charge against earnings in the second quarter to pay for the consolidation.
In February, Dell eliminated about 1,700 jobs. At the time, the company said it did not anticipate further layoffs.
