IT Home, July 13 report, the latest data released by the Oregon state government shows that Intel plans to lay off 2,392 people in the state, a number that is almost five times the size of the layoffs disclosed by the company earlier this week, making it one of the largest layoffs in Oregon's history.
Earlier this week, Intel notified officials at the Oregon Department of Labor that it planned to lay off more than 500 people. However, the revised data released by the state on Friday evening showed that the total number of layoffs increased to nearly 2,392.
This round of layoffs is part of Intel's "downsizing plan" under the new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan. Since this week, Intel has been cutting at least 3,999 jobs across the United States, including locations in Oregon, California, Arizona, and Texas. The company has hinted that more layoffs may follow in the coming weeks.
Oregon is Intel's largest research and manufacturing base globally, with about 20,000 employees at its campus in Washington County. The company had already reduced its workforce by 3,000 people through layoffs and buyouts last year, and this round of layoffs will further reduce its total number of employees.
Lip-Bu Tan admitted in a recent internal speech: "20 to 30 years ago, we were indeed industry leaders. But now, the world has changed, and we have even fallen out of the top ten semiconductor companies in the world."
Intel's mistakes in its technology roadmap can be traced back nearly a decade. Its process technology has been overtaken by TSMC, which has provided chip manufacturing services to AMD, NVIDIA, Apple, and others using advanced processes, capturing a large market share. Over the past three years, Intel's sales have declined by a third.
In the field of artificial intelligence chips, Intel has been left far behind by NVIDIA. Lip-Bu Tan stated bluntly: "In AI training chips, we are too late. NVIDIA's position is too strong, and we can only look for opportunities in edge AI technologies."
This round of layoffs poses a heavy blow to Oregon's economy. Semiconductor industry employees in the state earn an average annual income of $180,000 (approximately 1.291 million RMB at current exchange rates), much higher than the state average of $80,000. Layoffs will directly weaken consumer spending, suppress tax revenue, and may have a chain reaction on public services such as real estate, education, and healthcare.
State economist Carl Riccadonna told the state legislature last month: "We have solid evidence that the state's economy is weakening."
Although Intel receives nearly $260 million in state tax breaks annually to encourage its factory expansion in Oregon, the current market challenges have cast a shadow over the future of their cooperation.
During the tenure of former CEO Pat Gelsinger, Intel had planned a large-scale expansion, receiving $7.9 billion in federal subsidies to build new factories in Oregon, Arizona, Ohio, and New Mexico. Oregon also provided $115 million for the expansion of the D1X Research Center in Hillsboro.
However, since Lip-Bu Tan took over, the company quickly shifted to a contraction strategy. If Intel fails to proceed with the expansion as planned, it may have to return the state government's funding and re-evaluate its terms with the federal government.
This round of layoffs affects all levels of the company, but technical staff and frontline factory workers are hit the hardest. Over 500 technicians in Oregon alone have been laid off. The Intel Foundry division will cut 20%, affecting thousands of people.
The Gordon Moore Park at Ronler Acres in Hillsboro will lay off over 1,500 people, making it one of the major areas affected by these layoffs.
Laid-off employees will receive 13 weeks of salary compensation, plus 1.5 weeks of pay for each year of service. Most employees can continue to enjoy health insurance for a year, while those nearing retirement age can choose a lump sum cash compensation instead.
Differing from previous practices where the company publicly announced the target for layoffs, Lip-Bu Tan adopted a "departmental profit and loss responsibility" strategy, allowing departments to decide the scale of layoffs themselves, leading to internal information leaks over the past few weeks and continued employee tension.
Intel did not comment on the latest layoff figures released on Friday, only reiterating its previous statement: "Simplifying the organization structure and empowering engineers will allow us to better serve our customers and strengthen our execution. In this process, we will treat every employee with care and respect."
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