By Kavita Mistry 
Intel is planning to lay off over 21000 employees, accounting for nearly 20 percent of its total workforce of 108900, according to Bloomberg. This will be the company’s largest round of layoffs to date. The decision aims to cut costs, reduce corporate layers, and refocus the business on engineering excellence.
New CEO Leads Turnaround Plan
The layoffs mark the first major move by Lip-Bu Tan, who took over as Intel CEO in March 2025. A seasoned chip industry leader and former CEO of Cadence Design Systems, Tan has pledged to rebuild Intel as an engineering-focused company. In a memo to staff, he promised to develop the best products and regain customer trust through accountability and innovation.
Financial Losses and Competitive Pressure
The decision follows Intel’s poor financial performance over recent years. The company’s annual revenue fell from 79 billion dollars in 2021 to just 53.1 billion in 2024, representing a fourth consecutive year of decline. Its net loss for the second quarter of 2024 was 1.6 billion dollars. Intel also reported a 7 percent drop in Q4 2024 revenue compared to the previous year.
Intel’s struggles come amid fierce competition from Nvidia and AMD in the AI chip market. While Intel announced the Xeon 6 AI chip in mid-2024, it has since scrapped plans to release the Falcon Shores chip, choosing instead to double down on data center solutions.
Previous Layoffs and Future Outlook
This mass layoff follows a previous round in August 2024 that affected 15000 roles. At that time, Intel had shared plans to reduce expenses by 10 billion dollars by 2025 through job cuts and restructuring.
Intel’s headcount has already dropped from 124800 in 2023 to 108900 in December 2024. With these new layoffs, the number will fall further, as the company prepares for its first quarter 2025 earnings call later this week.
Intel stock has dropped by 65 percent over the past five years and 40 percent in the last 12 months. All eyes are now on Lip-Bu Tan and his leadership in reviving one of the world’s most iconic chipmakers.