Can Intel Be Leaner & More Agile by Laying Off 529 Employees?

Globe and Mail

6 days ago

Intel Corporation INTC is reportedly laying off 529 employees across four locations in Oregon to minimize operating costs and reduce organizational complexity to better serve customers. These include software and hardware engineers, developers, managers, scientists and other domain specialists with backgrounds in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing. A lion's share of the job cuts is taking place at Intel's Jones Farm Campus, which focuses on chip design work as well as research and development (R&D). The other facilities that are witnessing job cuts include the Aloha, Hawthorne Farm and Ronler Acres campuses, which support semiconductor research and manufacturing.
Oregon boasts the largest number of Intel's facilities and workforce, with about 22,000 employees. By trimming its huge employee base, the company aims to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy levels and become leaner and more agile, regaining its competitive edge. This follows a similar exercise a few days back, when the company decided to wind up its automotive architecture business as part of a broader restructuring process to trim operating costs and boost liquidity. Intel expects to free up significant resources by winding down this peripheral unit, thereby making more money available for R&D funding in the core PC and data center segments.
Intel has been investing in expanding its manufacturing capacity to accelerate its IDM 2.0 (Integrated Device Manufacturing) strategy. Interim management is committed to keeping the core strategy unchanged despite efforts to drive operational efficiency and agility. The company is emphasizing the diligent execution of operational goals to establish itself as a leading foundry. It is focusing on simplifying parts of its portfolio to unlock efficiencies and create value.
Other Tech Firms Laying Off Employees
Microsoft Corporation MSFT has laid off 6,000-7,000 employees as part of a broader restructuring strategy focused on boosting AI innovation and reducing organizational layers. The job cuts are purportedly aimed at reducing redundancy, particularly in middle management and support functions. Microsoft is reallocating the freed-up resources toward high-growth AI areas like Azure AI, Copilot and custom silicon. In addition to some non-core roles within the Azure cloud, Microsoft laid off employees from its legacy hardware operations and gaming divisions.
Meta Platforms, Inc. META has conducted multiple smaller rounds of layoffs this year, affecting around 3,600 employees across departments. A majority of the job cuts occurred in Meta's metaverse division, Reality Labs, as the company trimmed roles in hardware, AR/VR and software development that were deemed non-core. In addition, Meta eliminated various non-essential jobs while prioritizing AI-powered discovery businesses.
INTC's Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Intel shares have declined 30% over the past year against the industry 's growth of 23.5%.
Going by the price/sales ratio, the company's shares currently trade at 1.97 forward sales, lower than 14.95 for the industry.
Earnings estimates for 2025 have decreased 6.7% to 28 cents per share over the past 60 days, while the same for 2026 have declined 6.3% to 74 cents.
Intel stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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