Big Layoffs at Intel: Efforts to Bring Back Engineering Culture|
Intel has decided to lay off up to 20% of its staff this week, according to a Bloomberg report. The layoffs are being done to remove bureaucracy, streamline management, and rebuild an engineering-focused culture. This is the first major change under the leadership of new CEO Lip Bu Tan, who took the top post at the company only last month. The exact number of impacted employees or the timing of the layoffs has not been confirmed yet, but the change could affect thousands of people around the world.
Bigger than previous layoffs?
A few weeks ago, reports came that Intel is planning another big layoff. If these current layoffs are in line with the plan, they will be bigger than the August 2024 layoffs when the company laid off about 15% of its workforce.
Vision of CEO Lip-Bu Tan
Tan, who was previously the CEO of Cadence and has also been a board member of Intel, is now trying to take Intel back to the core of engineering. According to Reuters, he plans to completely overhaul the company’s AI strategy and chip manufacturing. They say that Intel has many layers of middle management which are slow and inefficient in work and they are being targeted.
Intel’s Struggle: The situation of the last few years
Intel reported an annual loss of $19 billion in 2024, the first such loss since 1986. The company has lost market share in the AI chips segment to competitors like Nvindia and Arm. The focus of the company is now to empower engineers, encourage innovation, and win back the trust of customers.
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Trend of Layoffs in Tech Industry
Not only Intel, but the entire tech industry is also facing layoffs in 2025. According to data on Layoffs.fyi, till now 93 companies have laid off more than 23,500 employees. Big names like Google, Microsoft, Meta, TikTok, Ola Electric and Siemens are also part of this trend.
Google has planned fresh layoffs in its Platform and Devices division and Microsoft in May with the focus on reducing middle management and increasing the engineer to manager ratio. All this is a new phase of AI led restructuring and performance based firings as every company is running after efficiency and speed.
