Intel recently laid off 311 employees across two campuses in California, 235 from Folsom and 76 from its headquarters in Santa Clara. These layoffs were announced on Nov. 3 and were scheduled to begin on Dec. 31, lasting over two weeks.
Intel is one of the world’s largest and highest-valued semiconductor chip manufacturers. With over 7,000 employees, Intel’s Santa Clara location is the largest employer in Silicon Valley; and with over 5,300 employees, its location in Folsom is one of Sacramento’s largest employers.
Over the past year, Intel has been making job cuts as part of a plan CEO Pat Gelsinger announced in October 2022 to weather a “pronounced slowdown in demand,” centered on cutting $3 billion in 2023 and up to $10 billion by 2025.
“Inclusive in our efforts will be steps to optimize our headcount,” Mr. Gelsinger told Wall Street analysts in a conference call. “These are difficult decisions affecting our loyal Intel family.”
This was after Intel reported a 20 percent decline in third quarter revenue to $15.3 billion in its Q3 2022.
“These are difficult decisions, and we are committed to treating impacted employees with dignity and respect,” Intel said in a statement to KCRA3.
Layoffs ensued as Intel kicked off its Q1 2023 with a $2.8 billion loss on a GAAP basis and an operating loss of $1.5 billion for the quarter. Its $11.7 billion revenue was a 36 percent drop from the same quarter the previous year.
The layoffs were confirmed in four Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filings to the California Employee Development Department. The WARN act requires employers to give employees a 60-day notice prior to large layoffs.
California’s WARN report reveals that Intel laid off a total of 1,714 workers throughout its California locations in 2023, capped off by the year-end layoff of 311 employees in the Santa Clara and Folsom locations.
In a statement reported by The San Francisco Chronicle on Dec. 21, company spokesperson Addy Burr said, “Intel is working to accelerate its strategy while reducing costs through multiple initiatives, including some business and function-specific workplace reductions across the company.”
An Intel spokesperson told The Register, “We have more than 13,000 employees in California and continue to invest in areas core to our business, including our U.S.-based manufacturing operations, to ensure we are well-positioned for long-term growth.”
In 2023, the tech industry experienced significant layoffs, with 224,503 layoffs over a 10-month period, marking a 50 percent increase year-over-year, according to an analysis of layoffs.fyi data by TechCrunch. However, the trend of layoffs declined as the year progressed; January witnessed nearly 90,000 layoffs, but the number was only 4,632 in September.
