Employees based in California are expected to be the first to be affected, with cuts at its Santa Clara HQ – a move that will trigger California’s notice law for mass layoffs.
The cuts, reportedly more than 100 posts, are said to reach across all levels and span a wide range of roles – including physical design engineers, AI and cloud specialists, and managers. The plans underscore the scope of Intel’s cost-cutting drive.
Intel is also shutting down its automotive unit based in Munich in another significant step to streamline operations.
When CEO Lip-Bu Tan took the helm earlier this year, he signalled that there were plans for significant layoffs as the year progressed. The last major round of redundancies took place in August 2024, when Intel cut 15% of its workforce. Now it is being suggested that upcoming cuts could reach 20%, which would affect 20,000 employees.
Intel’s announcement that is it shutting down its small automotive unit, laying off most of the team, highlights its efforts to ‘slim down’ its operations.
Operating out of Munich it designs chips for infotainment, vehicle controls, and software-defined vehicles.
The decision, however, does not affect Mobileye, the Israeli autonomous driving company which Intel bought for $15.3 billion in 2017 and in which it holds an 88% stake.
Elsewhere, Intel has decided to close its marketing unit and outsource its functions to Accenture the business consultancy firm which, boosted by AI, aims to better connect with customers.
