Intel will lay off up to 20% of factory workers: report says
Intel called the layoffs an effort to begin "removing organizational complexity"
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Intel is reported to be laying off up to 20% of its factory workforce as the struggling chipmaker tries to turn its business around.
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“These are difficult actions but essential to meet our affordability challenges and current financial position of the company," Intel Vice President Naga Chandrasekaran wrote in a letter to employees obtained by Oregon Live, detailing that the company will make the 15% to 20% cut on factory jobs in July.
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The company, which did not immediately return a request for comment, told the paper in a statement that “removing organizational complexity and empowering our engineers will enable us to better serve the needs of our customers and strengthen our execution." It did not comment on the specifics or reasons for the cuts.
In April, Intel had announced that it planned to purge 20% of its staff to pare back bureaucracy within the company, which would leave more than 20,000 people without a job. It wasn't immediately clear if the factory cuts are part of those plans or a separate downsizing initiative.
The previous layoff announcement was the first major action undertaken by chip veteran Lip-Bu Tan, who took the helm as Intel’s CEO earlier this year.
“Under my leadership, Intel will be an engineering-focused company. We will listen closely and act on your input. Most importantly, we will create products that solve your problems and drive your success,” Tan said in March.
The company has been struggling to keep pace with competitors like Nvidia, which replaced Intel on the Dow Jones Industrial Average in November 2024.
The company has also been the target of possible acquisitions and has been working with investment bankers at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to right its business, including by potentially splitting its foundry division.
The chipmaker’s struggles have even caught the eye of President Donald Trump, who, according to Bloomberg, reported that Taiwanese contract manufacturer TSMC (TSM) is considering taking a controlling stake in chipmaker Intel’s factories at the request of Trump.
Trump’s team raised the idea of a deal between the two firms in recent meetings with officials from TSMC, and they were receptive, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.
—Kevin Williams and Ece Yildirim contributed to this article.