Intel Israel begins latest round of layoffs, including Kiryat Gat factory for first time
Hundreds expected to lose jobs as chip giant extends cuts beyond R&D hubs in Haifa and Petah Tikva.
Intel Israel has begun issuing layoff notices as part of the latest round of cutbacks. Calcalist recently revealed that, for the first time, the layoffs will also reach the company’s Kiryat Gat plant, which until now had avoided staff cuts but is now a significant part of the current wave. According to estimates, several hundred employees will be laid off at this stage. The company said it has no comment on the issue.
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Intel Israel currently employs about 9,300 workers, around 4,000 of whom work at the Kiryat Gat plant. Until now, most of the layoffs were believed to be focused mainly on the R&D divisions in Petah Tikva and Haifa, as well as on the closure of activities such as Intel Ignite and Granulate, the Israeli startup acquired by Intel in 2022.
Over the years, the Kiryat Gat plant has received substantial government grants. As long as Intel was committed to the state, it avoided layoffs there and even expanded its workforce. For instance, in 2023, the Israeli government approved a $3.2 billion grant as part of Intel’s planned $15 billion investment in a new plant. This followed earlier grants of $185 million in 2018 and $300 million in 2014.
Once considered the crown jewel of Intel’s global manufacturing network, the Kiryat Gat facility is now seen as outdated: it still produces chips, but without significant investment and modernization soon, its closure is entirely possible.
The Kiryat Gat fabs - Fab28 and Fab28A - currently produce chips using 7nm and 10nm technologies, now considered outdated compared to the global cutting-edge standards of 3nm and 5nm. Intel has not yet clarified the future of Fab38, a new facility under construction next to the older plants.
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Intel has undergone several major rounds of layoffs in the past two years. The first, at the end of 2023, affected about 1,000 employees in Israel. The second began in April 2025 and is expected to impact many hundreds more.
Since 2022, Intel has laid off more than 20,000 employees globally, and according to CEO Lip-bu Tan’s plans, a similar number may be cut this year.
