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Intel (INTC+7.03%) shares climbed by over 4% during mid-day trading on Monday after the company announced that its chief executive is out.
After over four decades at the chip pioneer, Intel chief executive Pat Gelsinger retired from the company and stepped down from its board of directors on Sunday, Intel said. Intel chief financial officer David Zinsner and chief executive of Intel Products Michelle Johnston Holthaus will now serve as interim co-CEOs while Intel’s board looks for another leader. Frank Yeary, the independent chair of Intel’s board, will become its interim executive chair.
“While we have made significant progress in regaining manufacturing competitiveness and building the capabilities to be a world-class foundry, we know that we have much more work to do at the company and are committed to restoring investor confidence,” Yeary said in a statement.
Intel’s shares, which have fallen over 47% so far this year, were up by about 4.4% amid the news, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSM-2.24%) U.S.-listed shares were up by almost 5%, and British chip designer Arm’s (ARM+4.45%) shares were up by 4.5%.
Gelsinger’s stepping down comes as the chipmaker loses ground to competitors including Nvidia (NVDA+3.01%), which has benefitted from the artificial intelligence boom.
In late November, the U.S. Commerce Department finalized Intel’s Chips Act funding of up to $7.86 billion — less than the proposed $8.5 billion announced in March. However, the finalized direct funding is in addition to a $3 billion contract Intel was awarded under a part of the Chips Act known as the Secure Enclave. The program is meant to expand manufacturing of cutting-edge chips for the U.S. government.
With its Chips Act funding, Intel plans to expand its U.S. semiconductor industry footprint with chipmaking and advanced packaging sites in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, and Oregon — an investment worth more than $100 billion.
Meanwhile, Intel was dropped from the Dow Jones Industrial Average in November and replaced by Nvidia.