Intel layoff plans will see a 20% reduction in semiconductor factory workers

Intel has reportedly told its employees that the company plans to lay off between 15% and 20% of its employees from its chip manufacturing division, with more job cuts planned down the line.

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The Oregonian wrote earlier this week that general manager of the Intel Foundry Technology and Manufacturing organization, Naga Chandrasekaran, told its factory workers of the news in an email sent over the weekend. Chandrasekaran said: "These are difficult actions but essential to meet our affordability challenges and current financial position of the company. It drives pain to every individual".

An Intel spokesperson told CRN that the company is "taking steps to become a leaner, faster and more efficient company" that it had previously announced (in the stories below).

An Intel spokesperson said in a statement to CRN: "Removing organizational complexity and empowering our engineers will enable us to better serve the needs of our customers and strengthen our execution. We are making these decisions based on careful consideration of what's needed to position our business for the future, and we will treat people with care and respect as we complete this important work".

The Oregonian also reports that Intel is also "planning major cuts in other parts of it business, too". As of December 2024, Intel had 108,900 employees, which is down from the 124,800 workers that the company had a year ago. Intel also has a freshly-minted CEO in Lip-Bu Tan, who replaced Pat Gelsinger as CEO earlier this year, with Tan promising that he would be slicing and dicing operating and capital expenses, to better streamline the company, eliminate management layers, and enable faster decision-making from the struggling company that AMD has been working (very hard) against for the last few years.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said a few months ago to employees in a public memory that "there is no way around the fact that these critical changes will reduce the size of our workforce". Tan added: "We must balance our reductions with the need to retain and recruit key talent. I will empower each of my leaders to make the best possible decisions aligned with our top priorities. These decisions will not be made lightly, and we will keep you regularly informed".

In a statement from Tan in April 2025, he explained: "I am taking swift actions to drive better execution and operational efficiency while empowering our engineers to create great products. We are going back to basics by listening to our customers and making the changes needed to build the new Intel".