In the face of a slowdown in the PC industry, chipmaker Intel is preparing a significant decrease in its workforce. Layoffs could affect thousands of employees, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing individuals familiar with the matter.
According to the article, the layoffs will be disclosed as early as this month. A few of Intel’s divisions, notably the sales and marketing business, face personnel losses of up to 20 percent.
According to Bloomberg News, Intel has 113,700 employees as of July. The organization declined to comment on the reported layoffs. After missing Q2 earnings predictions, the business cut its yearly sales and profit forecasts in July.
People aren’t buying as many PCs
People are spending less on PCs than they did amid pandemic-related lockdowns due to rampant inflation and the reopening of workplaces and schools.
Chip manufacturers are under strain from Putin’s war in Ukraine and COVID-19 restrictions in China, an important PC market. The circumstances have caused supply-chain issues and dragged demand.
Intel plans to get into the foundry business
On Tuesday, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger sent a memo to company personnel detailing plans to develop an internal foundry framework for external customers and the company’s product offerings.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is the market leader in foundries, which manufacture chips designed by other companies. So far, Intel has only manufactured processors that it creates itself.
In July, the company said it would produce chips for Taiwan MediaTek, one of the world’s biggest chip design companies. However, one has to wonder if Intel can pull off the expansion, given the prohibitively high price of failure if things do not go according to plan.
The manufacturing agreement is one of the most important deals Intel has unveiled since the start of its so-called foundry division earlier this year. Intel previously announced arrangements with Qualcomm and Amazon.com for its foundry division, which could help it survive in the future.
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