The US chip-making firm, Intel, is planning to let go 235 employees in the fifth round of layoffs this year.
The job-cutting exercise may spill into the new year too. Right now, as per media reports, the impact will be seen on employees in the research and development (R&D) wing at Folsom, in Sacramento County.
Folsom serves as the site for the development of graphics processors, software, SSDs and chipsets, that is, its primary R&D facility.
The company is trying to cut costs and is taking various measures to do so. Some of these measures will require reductions at the workplace to make the business more profitable and lean in the longer term. That is why, the possibility of more jobs being axed in 2024 cannot be ruled out.
Intel has already let go almost 550 at Folsom this year, that is, more than 10 per cent of the team there.
In 2022, the company had indicated that it would be trimming its costs and expenditure by $10 billion in about three years’ time. This exercise, it was then implied, would involve downsizing, reducing hours and even sale of certain divisions.
In California itself, Intel has a 13,000-strong team presently.
The workforce trimming is clearly being resorted to because of the challenging macroeconomic environment. Reports say that jobs may be cut in its client-computing and data-centre divisions too in the near future.
