Intel announces major changes ahead: manufacturing, job cuts, prioritizing x86 CPU business

Intel has been struggling for a while now, with rumors of an emergency board meeting being held where CEO Pat Gelsinger would outline his plan to turn Intel around (again) and now we're here. Yep, 15,000+ job cuts are on the chopping block for Intel.

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Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has posted a message to employees regarding the next phase of Intel's transformation after his meeting with the Board of Directors last week. Gelsinger said that he and the board have "a lot of work to drive greater efficiency, improve our profitability and enhance our market competitiveness". There were 3 key takeaways from the meeting that Gelsinger highlighted:

• We must build on our momentum in Foundry as we near the launch of Intel 18A and drive greater capital efficiency across this part of our business.
• We must continue acting with urgency to create a more competitive cost structure and deliver the $10B in savings target we announced last month.
• We must refocus on our strong x86 franchise as we drive our AI strategy while streamlining our product portfolio in service to Intel customers and partners.

One of the first major announcements was that Amazon Web Services (AWS) has chosen Intel Foundry to make custom chips, with a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar framework covering products and wafers from Intel. Intel Foundry will produce an AI fabric chip for AWS on Intel 18A, the company will also make a custom Xeon 6 processor on Intel 3 that builds on the company's existing partnership, which makes Xeon Scalable processors for AWS.

• Read more: Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger to present plans to help the company at emergency board meeting
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Intel expects "deep engagement" with AWS on additional designs spanning Intel 18A, Intel 18AP, and Intel 14A.

Intel was also awarded up to $3 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act for the US government's Secure Enclave program, a program designed to expand the trusted manufacturing of leading-edge semiconductors for the U.S. government. As the only American company that both designs and manufactures leading-edge logic chips, we will help secure the domestic chip supply chain.

Intel also plans to establish its semiconductor arm -- Intel Foundry -- into an independent subsidiary inside of Intel, with Gelsinger explaining: "A subsidiary structure will unlock important benefits. It provides our external foundry customers and suppliers with clearer separation and independence from the rest of Intel. Importantly, it also gives us future flexibility to evaluate independent sources of funding and optimize the capital structure of each business to maximize growth and shareholder value creation".

"There is no change to our Intel Foundry leadership team, which continues to report to me. We will also establish an operating board that includes independent directors to govern the subsidiary. This supports our continued focus on driving greater transparency, optimization and accountability across the business. A more focused and efficient Intel Foundry will further enhance collaboration with Intel Products. And our capabilities across design and manufacturing will remain a source of competitive differentiation and strength".

As for Intel Foundry's manufacturing buildout, here are some updates:

• We recently increased capacity in Europe through our fab in Ireland, which will remain our lead European hub for the foreseeable future. We will pause our projects in Poland and Germany by approximately two years based on anticipated market demand.
• Malaysia remains an active design and manufacturing hub through our existing operations. We plan to complete the construction of our new advanced packaging factory in Malaysia but will align the startup with market conditions and increased utilization of our existing capacity.
• There are no changes to our other manufacturing locations. We remain committed to our U.S. manufacturing investments and are moving forward with our projects in Arizona, Oregon, New Mexico and Ohio. We remain well-positioned to scale up production around the world based on market demand as we grow our foundry business.

One of the biggest takeaways for me is that Intel says its top priority is to "maximize the value of our x86 franchise across client, edge, and data center markets, including with a broader range of custom chiplets and other customized offerings that meet emerging customer needs, as demonstrated by today's AWS announcement".