March 16 (Reuters) - Dell's total workforce declined by about 10%, or 11,000 employees, in fiscal ‌2026, it said on Monday, a sign ‌that the AI server maker is limiting external hiring to ​reduce costs.

The company spent $569 million in severance payments in this period, compared with $693 million a year ago, its annual report showed.

Dell had about 97,000 employees ‌as of January ⁠31, down from about 108,000 employees a year ago. Its workforce had declined ⁠by about 10% in fiscal 2025.

Silicon Valley employees have grown increasingly concerned about AI disruption in recent ​months as ​60 tech companies ​have laid off more ‌than 38,000 employees this year, according to Layoffs.fyi, a website tracking sector-wide job cuts.

Reuters reported on Friday that social media giant Meta was planning a sweeping layoff that could affect 20% or more of ‌its workforce.

Dell, whose shares have ​risen over 24% so far ​this year, said ​last month that it expects revenue ‌from its key AI-optimized servers ​business to ​double in fiscal year 2027.

In February, it announced a 20% hike in its cash dividend ​and an ‌additional $10 billion for its share repurchase program.

(Reporting by ​Jaspreet Singh and Utkarsh Shetti in Bengaluru; ​Editing by Arun Koyyur)