Dell Inc. (DELL) Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Dell announced the company would eliminate more jobs then originally targeted and plans to buy back $1 billion in stock in the first quarter.

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"We are not satisfied with the current state of affairs and are on a mission to fix it," Dell said to analysts at the company’s Round Rock, Texas headquarters, Reuters reported. "Every area of the company is being pursued" for cost cuts.

Last May, the company announced that 8,800 jobs would be cut, and 5,500 of them have been eliminated so far. Another 1,000 will be gone by the end of the quarter. Dell didn’t say how many total jobs the company would eliminate before the dust clears.

The larger mission of the cuts is to slash operating expenses, which Dell wants lower than the previous year’s.

Dell’s total operating expenses were $15.2 billion for the quarter ended Feb. 1, while total revenue clocked in at almost $16 billion, leaving less than $800 million in operating income.

The company wants to reduce costs by $3 billion by 2011, Dow Jones reported.

"I believe we have begun the journey to transform the company," Dell said.

Not only is he believing, he’s betting on it. At the same meeting, Chief Financial Officer Donald Carty said the company plans to repurchase at least $1 billion in company stock this quarter. The company bought back $400 million of its stock last quarter.

Carty also said the company will draw from capital markets for debt financing. 

"Historically, we have not taken on much leverage," Carty said, Reuters reported. "We do expect to access capital markets to increase our leverage."

News and Related Story Links:

• Reuters:
  Dell to cut more jobs in cost-cutting "mission"

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  Dell To Cut More Jobs In Bid To Lower Costs

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  Dell to buy back at least $1 billion of stock