US chip giant Intel Corporation announced a third 15 percent workforce reduction and the cancellation of projects in Germany and Poland, as part of a restructuring plan to reduce expenses and restore the company's competitiveness.
New CEO Lip-Bu Tan said in a memo to employees that the company aims to end the year with just 75,000 core employees, compared to 99,500 at the end of last year.
According to him, the decision to implement these layoffs is a difficult but necessary step, to create a more efficient and accountable organizational structure at all levels.
In addition, Intel is also moving its assembly and testing operations in Costa Rica to larger facilities in Vietnam and Malaysia. Meanwhile, the construction of a semiconductor factory in Ohio, USA, will be slowed down.
These cost-saving measures are taken as Intel continues to face challenges in the semiconductor market, especially with the rise of competitors such as Nvidia and AMD, which now dominate the artificial intelligence (AI) chip sector.
For the second quarter of 2025, Intel posted a loss of $2.9 billion, including $1.9 billion in restructuring charges. While revenue remained above analyst expectations at $12.9 billion, the company's market value still lags far behind Nvidia's $98.7 billion, which is now worth $4.24 trillion.
Tan stressed that any investment from now on must generate a clear economic return, and the company can no longer hand out "blank checks" without a solid foundation.
