Founder Of Round Rock-Based Dell Technologies Among Trump Guests At Business Roundtable

ROUND ROCK, TX — Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of Round Rock-based Dell Technologies, was among a group of business titans meeting with Donald Trump on Monday as part of the president's urging of industry leaders to make their products in the U.S.—or face a "substantial border tax."

The blog 512tech.com, a unit of the Austin American-Statesman, reported about the encounter. But the meeting wasn't just about the border tax Trump wants to impose on foreign goods entering the country. He also reminded those gathered of his campaign promise to cut business regulations by at least 75 percent.

At one point, Trump zeroed on on Dell as he reached to shake his hand: "Or when Dell wants to come in and do something monstrous and special, you are going to have your approvals really fast," he said.

The gathering with a dozen business leaders took place in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

A spokesman for Dell said the company founder was "...honored to be included on the president's committee on manufacturing," according to the blog. “We look forward to working with the administration to help spur innovation, create economic growth and support U.S. competitiveness.”

Dell was joined by a veritable who's who of notable companies, including Kevin Plank of Under Armour; Elon Musk of Tesla; Marilyn Hewson of Lockheed Martin; and Mario Longhi of U.S. Steel. Trump hinted he may want to stage such meetings on a quarterly basis.

While the invite was quite a coup for Dell, an unknown number of his employees have recently been laid off following a mega-merger that resulted in redundancies. On the heels of its $63 billion mega-merger with EMC Corp. in September, Dell Technologies officials acknowledged jobs might be cut as a result of redundancy -- as many as 3,000 positions, according to some media outlets.

The layoffs appear to be conducted quietly, as local media have not reported substantively since news of the merger hit. However, there's been considerable chatter on the matter on the Austin Redditt site where anonymity protects from the limitations of non-disclosure agreements or related discretion.

"Some people were laid off, but that's not uncommon for a merger of that size," notes one anonymous Redditt user who reportedly works in the operations department. "There has to be some redundancy, right? Obviously, I am glad it wasn't me, but compared to how many people in the Austin area they employee, a very small number were laid off. I get paid $125k a year, and I don't have a college degree. I get paid that much and do that much because I've proven I'm worth it, and Dell rewards that."

>>> Read the full story at 512tech.com

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