Intel is to cut down around 24,000 employees this year, which roughly accounts for a quarter of its workforce. The company has reportedly decided to scrap its expansion projects in Poland and Germany as CEO Lip-Bu Tan proceeds with cost-cutting measures. 

The semiconductor giant, which had a workforce of over 99,500 crore at the end of 2024, plans to have just 75,000 employees towards the end of 2025. According to a report by The Times of India, Tan called this “hard but necessary decisions” in his memo addressing the staff on Thursday, July 24. Included in the cuts are second-quarter layoffs, during which Intel slashed nearly 50% of its management tiers, incurring $1.9 billion in restructuring charges.

“There are no more blank checks. Every investment must make economic sense” – he wrote to employees – “We will build what our customers need, when they need it, and earn their trust through consistent execution”. 

The company reportedly underwent a $2.9 billion quarterly loss on $12.9 billion, further pushing Intel into its sixth successive quarterly loss – the company’s longest streak of losses in 35 years.

Intel’s struggles show how, once a giant in chip manufacturing, it is trailing behind rivals like AMD and Nvidia amid AI boom. 

Intel to abandon mega plans? 

Intel to abandon plans for a multibillion-dollar “mega-fab” project in Germany that would have employed 3,000 workers. The company has also quit an assembly and test facility project in Poland for 2,000 employees. It has decided to consolidate its assembly and test operations in Costa Rica – impacting over 3,400 Intel employees, with operations shifting to Malaysia and Vietnam.