Dell on Wednesday said it had laid off staff at different sites worldwide in an effort to cut costs and streamline operations.

The company did not provide an exact number of employees it had laid off. However a company spokesman said that jobs were cut globally, including sites in Texas and North Carolina.

The layoffs are the latest step by Dell to cut operating costs as it implements belt-tightening measures to fight the recession. Dell in February announced it would increasing its cost-cutting goal to US$4 billion by the end of fiscal 2011, a change from the original target of $3 billion announced in May last year.

"[Wednesday's] actions are consistent with the streamlining that has been underway in our business for more than a year. It’s part of our ongoing initiative to remain competitive by enhancing our efficiency and underlying cost structure," said Jess Blackburn, a Dell spokesman, in a statement.

In addition to layoffs, Dell's cost-cutting measures in the past have included shutting down factories and outsourcing hardware manufacturing. Dell in January said it would lay off 1,900 employees from a plant in Limerick, Ireland, and shift its European PC manufacturing operation from Ireland to Poland.

The company employed about 78,800 people at the end of the fiscal fourth quarter of 2008, a headcount reduction of 9,400 from a year earlier.