Intel is laying off 15,000 people: 'We are making some of the most consequential changes in our company's history'

HardwareProcessorsIntel is laying off 15,000 people: ‘We are making some of the most consequential changes in our company’s history’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Future)

Intel Core i9 14900K CPU on a box and inside a motherboard socket.

“This is painful news for me to share. I know it will be even more difficult for you to read. This is an incredibly hard day for Intel as we are making some of the most consequential changes in our company’s history.”

Gelsinger says the decision is due to the introduction of a new operating model, which “made it clear our cost structure is not competitive”.

“For example, our annual revenue in 2020 was about $24 billion higher than it was last year, yet our current workforce is actually 10% larger now than it was then. There are a lot of reasons for this, but it’s not a sustainable path forward,” Gelsinger says.

Intel has been trying to get itself back on a road to recovery for many years; CEO Gelsinger even was a part of said proposed recovery plan. Though it was not to be. It faces huge challenges in trying to turn itself into the profitable venture it once was, when money was quite literally flooding in, and it has yet to overcome many of them.

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Its CPUs are facing stern competition, not only from AMD, but ARM, too—not to mention the ongoinginstability issues from Intel’s own microcode. And the fastest growing computing market, AI, is playing into the hands of another computing company, Nvidia.

(Image credit: Intel)

Intel graph on its financial performance in 2024.

Intel’s plan to drastically reduce its headcount will see a tremendous layoffs to staff impacting 15,000 employees. That’s the equivalent of nearly half of the entirety of Nvidia’s workforce, or a seriously large chunk of AMD’s, too. Intel currently has well over 120,000 employees today.

Intel’s CEO lays out some of the ways it intends to brace for even tougher times, and to make “bolder actions”. Some of which may impact the products it chooses to commit to making in the future.

It’s easy to speculate as to which those could be. Intel’s graphics division has long been the subject to such rumours, yet it is also a key market that is seeing exponential growth for Nvidia. Nothing has yet been confirmed, anyways, so let’s not make our minds up just yet.

Other priorities include suspending its dividend, or its payout to investors; reducing capital and spending, eliminating complexity, and making further cost savings. Effectively, it would seem, going into a complete money-saving mode, and putting an end to a grand plan of spending heaps of cash to dig itself out of a lasting slump.

Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.

Best CPU for gamingBest gaming motherboardBest graphics cardBest SSD for gaming

Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.

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