Tech layoffs: Intel to cut down 30,000 jobs by end of 2025, axes expansion plans

Intel has confirmed it will reduce its core workforce by nearly one-third by the end of 2025, as part of an extensive restructuring effort aimed at cutting costs and reviving the company’s competitive edge. The chipmaker shared the update alongside its second-quarter earnings, detailing the full scope of a plan first hinted at earlier this year.

The company said it expects to end 2025 with a core headcount of 75,000 employees, down from 108,900 at the end of 2024. That figure excludes staff at subsidiaries such as the autonomous driving unit Mobileye. The cuts, which Intel says are “mostly complete,” include layoffs and natural attrition and are designed to streamline operations into a “faster-moving, flatter and more agile organisation.”

This marks one of the first major decisions under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who replaced Pat Gelsinger in March following a prolonged period of underperformance. Tan, who has been candid about his intent to reshape the company, said: “It’s going to take time, but we see clear opportunities to enhance our competitive position, improve our profitability and create long-term shareholder value.”

As part of the cost-cutting initiative, Intel has also scrapped expansion projects in Germany and Poland and will consolidate its Costa Rican operations into facilities in Vietnam and Malaysia. Additionally, the company said it will “slow the pace” of its construction in Ohio to better match current market demand.

Intel’s transformation comes as it struggles to reclaim its former dominance amid a broader shift in the semiconductor landscape. The company has faced criticism for failing to capitalise on the rise of mobile computing and artificial intelligence, areas where rivals like Nvidia have surged ahead. Nvidia recently became the first publicly traded company to briefly surpass a $4 trillion market valuation.

Intel’s job cuts follow a wider trend in the tech industry. Microsoft laid off around 9,000 workers earlier this month, while Meta trimmed roughly 5% of its workforce in January.