Dell delays plant closure

Dell is again delaying plans to shut down its computer factory in Winston-Salem.

The company will now keep the facility open through the end of July, about three months longer than expected.

Dell officials who notified the plant's work force of the decision Friday morning were greeted with "great enthusiasm" from employees, spokesman David Frink said. The plant has about 400 Dell workers and an undisclosed number of contract employees.

"We require the production capability for that plant for longer than we anticipated," Frink said. Dell is adjusting "to meet various kinds of customer demand."

The delay is good news for the Triad region, but it's only another temporary reprieve for a factory that once was seen as a symbol of the state's evolving economy. Dell opened the PC assembly plant in 2005 after state and local officials promised an incentives package worth more than $280 million.

Dell has since repaid most of the incentive money it received.

Employment at the plant in southeastern Forsyth County, about 100 miles west of Raleigh, peaked at 1,100 people, but Dell laid off hundreds of workers last year as business slowed.

Dell announced last fall it planned to shut the plant by the end of January as the global recession hurt demand for desktop PCs. In December, it postponed that move to late April.

Dell won't speculate about further changes at the plant past the end of July, Frink said.

The Texas company will once again offer retention bonuses to workers who agree to stay through July, Frink added. Employees will receive severance payments after that.

Earlier this month, Dell reported that fourth-quarter sales rose 16 percent but that profit fell. Competition is increasing, and consumers are buying cheaper computers. But founder and CEO Michael Dell told analysts that the company expects more business customers will replace aging systems.

"We're seeing the beginnings of a refresh," Dell said on a conference call.

Dell is the world's No. 3 PC maker based on market share, behind Hewlett-Packard and Acer. Lenovo, the Chinese computer maker with a headquarters in Morrisville, is No. 4.