Intel allegedly plans further wave of layoffs: Management particularly affected
Intel is said to be planning further redundancies after 15,000 employees were laid off last year. This time, management in particular is to be affected.
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Intel is reportedly planning to lay off more than 20 percent of its workforce with the aim of reducing bureaucratic hurdles. This is reported by Bloomberg with reference to insider knowledge. The layoffs are expected to be announced this week and will primarily affect the company's management, which is said to be unproductive and overstaffed. The redundancies are intended to help make Intel competitive again. This is currently the main task of the new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan.
Intel reported a workforce of over 100,000 employees at the end of 2024, so the redundancies would impact over 20,000 employees. This round of layoffs would be even larger than the 2024 layoffs, in which more than 15,000 employees lost their jobs. Intel already paid several billion US dollars for restructuring, including severance payments in 2024.
The redundancies would be the first restructuring under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who took over from Pat Gelsinger in March. During Gelsinger's time as CEO, Intel began its efforts to become a contract manufacturer for chips and planned to build several new semiconductor plants, including in Germany. However, persistently poor business figures forced the company to put the German construction on hold. Intel is also delaying spending on new plants in the USA.
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Intel must become leaner
To make Intel profitable and competitive again, Lip-Bu Tan is continuing to pursue the previously initiated aggressive strategy of streamlining the company. Intel recently sold shares in FPGA manufacturer Altera worth over four billion US dollars. The sale brought much-needed cash into Intel's coffers. Intel had previously sold off numerous other divisions, including the memory groups, mining hardware, mini PCs (NUCs) and networking products.
As early as 2024, Tan, then still a member of the Board of Directors, recommended prioritizing the reduction of management in redundancies to keep Intel competitive. He was not successful with this. Following disagreements, he left the Board of Directors in September 2024 – and rejoined it when he was appointed CEO.
(acha)
