• On the eve of its first quarter results report under Lip-Bu Tan, rumours are swirling around Intel.
• According to Bloomberg speaking to a person familiar with the matter, Intel may layoff as many as 20 percent of its staffing compliment.
• This as the new CEO aims to streamline operations and make Intel the behemoth it once was.

While traditionally managers have been somewhat safe from mass layoffs, that is no longer the case. Earlier this month we reported that Microsoft was preparing to layoff managers and low-performing workers and now chipmaker Intel appears to be taking a similar approach.

As reported by Bloomberg, citing a person with knowledge of the situation, Intel is preparing to layoff more than 20 percent of its staffing compliment.

Truthfully, Lip-Bu Tan, the newly Christened chief executive officer at Intel, appeared to be taking a hard-line approach to righting the Intel ship when he joined the company and layoffs seemed to always be on the table.

“As I prepare to come on board, I believe we have a truly unique opportunity to remake our company at one of the most pivotal moments in its history,” Tan told employees when he was made CEO.

“That’s not to say it will be easy. It won’t be. But I am joining because I believe with every fiber of my being that we have what it takes to win. Intel plays an essential role in the technology ecosystem, both in the U.S. and around the world. And, together, I’m confident we can turn our business around,” the executive added.

These layoffs, which could happen this week, aim to eliminate bureaucracy, streamline management and put engineering at the heart of Intel’s operations. Whether this will have the intended effect is an unknown quantity at this stage.

This would be the first major move by Lip-Bu Tan who took over the reigns at Intel when Pat Gelsinger left suddenly last year. For the last few years Intel has been struggling. It’s consumer chip segment is being eaten alive by AMD and Team Blue never really cracked the artificial intelligence compute market in the same way NVIDIA has. The company’s GPUs seem to be performing admirably in a highly competitive market but Intel may be cutting the fat from its operations while it lays off workers.

As highlighted by Mashable India, Intel is looking to get rid of its programmable chip unit, Altera. This is yet another approach from Tan to streamline the company and hone its focus. Silver Lake Management will take a 51 percent stake in Altera which should bump up Intel’s spreadsheets although by how much is unclear.

It’s likely that Intel will officially announce the layoffs on Thursday when it presents its Q1 earnings report to investors. That will likely be an interesting set of results to peruse and will reveal just how much work Tan has on his plate.

Check back on Thursday to see how Intel performed financially in the first quarter of 2025.