Intel employees brace for layoff notices as cuts to move into high gear next week

The layoffs at Intel are set to move into high gear next week. After employees who opted for early retirement officially left the company at the end of September, Intel is continuing its plans to cut back, aiming to complete the layoffs of approximately 15,000 employees by the end of the year.

Managers across Intel's divisions have already submitted to their superiors the names of employees they recommend for layoffs. These employees will soon be notified, many of them as soon as next week, with CEO Pat Gelsinger stating last month that most notices will be issued around mid-October.

Intel.

"Through our voluntary early retirement and separation offerings, we are more than halfway to our workforce reduction target of approximately 15,000 by the end of the year," Gelsinger wrote in a message to employees. "We still have difficult decisions to make and will notify impacted employees in the middle of October."

The first phase of cutbacks occurred in August when the company announced a $10 billion cost-cutting plan, which included laying off 15,000 employees—15% of its workforce—and implementing targeted measures like canceling leasing programs and reducing employee benefits. The second phase followed last month, with the announcement that the foundry division—Intel's business of manufacturing chips for other companies—will become an independent subsidiary with its own board of directors. Gelsinger explained that the foundry division, which includes the manufacturing plant in Israel, will have the opportunity to "evaluate independent sources of funding."

Additionally, Gelsinger revealed that the company is "implementing plans to reduce or exit about two-thirds of our real estate globally by the end of the year."

Many of those opting for voluntary retirement were naturally among the company's most experienced employees, given the substantial severance packages tailored to seniority. The program offered compensation packages based on tenure: employees with five years of service received four months' salary, those with over 10 years were entitled to 10 months' salary, and employees with more than 30 years of service received 19 months' salary upon retirement.