Intel layoffs: CEO Lip-Bu Tan announces key restructuring plans amid plans to cut down ‘unnecessary bureaucracy’

Big Tech firm Intel Corporation's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Lip-Bu Tan, on Wednesday, April 30, announced his key restructuring plans for the chipmaking giant and hinted at the upcoming layoff, according to an announcement on the official website. 

Lip-Bu Tan said in his statement that the company plans to focus its operations on its engineering works, which are creating ‘unnecessary bureaucracy’ that is slowing down the firm.

“I’ve been surprised to learn that, in recent years, the most important KPI for many managers at Intel has been the size of their teams. Going forward, this will not be the case,” said the Intel CEO, highlighting this thought process that the best leaders will get work done by fewer people.

“There is no way around the fact that these critical changes will reduce the size of our workforce,” he said.

This restructuring operation will be the first since Lip-Bu Tan took charge of the firm as its new CEO last month. The new CEO is focusing on making the organisation “lean” and on saving time and energy which is spent on internal administrative work rather than taking the business forward. 

Intel Corp. shares on the Nasdaq Composite were trading 0.10 per cent lower at $20.32

More than 20% layoffs?

According to a Bloomberg report, citing people aware of the development on April 23, Intel is set to lay off more than 20 per cent of its staff to reduce bureaucracy in the struggling company.

The upcoming job cuts are coming after Intel decided to cut 15,000 jobs in August 2024, and as of the year ended 2024, the Big Tech firm had 1,08,900 employees working under it, compared to the 1,24,800 employees in the previous year.

The company refused to respond to the queries sent by the news agency. 

Work from office

According to official Intel data, the company currently mandates its hybrid employees work a minimum of three days per week in the office and the rest from home.

“I strongly believe that our sites need to be vibrant hubs of collaboration that reflect our culture in action,” said the Intel CEO.

In the announcement on April 24, the company has changed the minimum work from office requirement to at least four days per week by September 1, 2025, compared to its current three day levels now.

“We will be updating our policy to require four days per week on site by Sept. 1. I wanted to tell you well in advance so that you have time to make any adjustments to your daily routines,” said Lip-Bu Tan in his statement to the employees.