Tips On Dealing With IT Equipment After Layoffs

Citigroup recently eliminated 52,000 jobs – just one of the large companies slimming down on their operations. This has forced IT departments to deal with hundreds and even thousands of desktops and notebooks that are no longer in use, eWeek.com reports.

Here’s advice on what to do with extra IT equipment:

1. Companies should be aware of their refresh cycle if and when layoffs are announced, this helps reduce the amount of extra IT equipment when the economy is unstable.
2. Repurpose the machines for other tasks or assign IT equipment to other employees who may have older PCs.
3. IT departments that decide to dispose of older PCs could look into companies that offer recovery, recycling and disposal services such as Dell, Hewleet-Packard, IBM, Intechra and Redemtech. These services can also completely destroy PCs if there is concern about security and data being compromised.
4. IT departments could also donate unwanted PCs to charity. One bonus is that companies that do so may be able to claim a tax credit.

Many companies such as Best Buy, Dell, Lenovo, National Instruments, Office Depot, Sharp and Toshiba, also offer free e-waste recycling programs.