In what looks suspiciously like a campaign to encourage voluntary separations ahead of mandatory layoffs, newly private Dell has told employees that if they don’t share management’s “passion and enthusiasm” for the next phase of corporate life they are welcome to leave. The Register quotes an internal memo, which the company has confirmed:

We hope you share in our passion and enthusiasm for Dell's exciting next chapter. It's going to take everyone's hard work and commitment to become the leading provider of end-to-end scalable solutions and deliver for our customers. However, for those that believe this is not a good fit, we're offering a Voluntary Separation Program, where allowed by local law and with [Executive Leadership Team] approval.

What is most telling is who the plan doesn’t apply to. Malcontents in the software group, those with titles like vice president, executive or distinguished director in engineering, and employees in India and Singapore are all excluded. Workers in EMEA aren’t included either, but may be in a future round, Dell said. Those employees who are interested have until Dec. 20 to apply, though the company doesn’t promise they’ll be selected. Departures will be arranged in mid-January, presumably with a parting gift attached. That the plan isn’t quite what the memo makes it out to be was revealed in an e-mail Dell PR sent to The Register. It suggests this isn’t about philosophical differences at all:

The VSP is not related to the company going private – it’s part of our overall Productivity initiative to get in a competitive cost position. We won’t have additional comment about the program, the number of Dell team members taking advantage of it (locally or regionally) or the cost involved.

Nor would the company say whether the Voluntary Separation Program might be replaced by an involuntary program if too few workers want to leave.