Intel CEO alludes to layoffs as tech giant loses $821 million in Q1

Russ Wiles, Arizona Republic

Mon, Apr 28, 2025, 12:46 PM 3 min read

Intel Corp. plans employment reductions and a tighter return-to-work policy in coming months, but the company, a major employer in Chandler, didn't announce specific layoff numbers in a quarterly earnings report on April 24 or in a message from its new CEO.

Media reports in recent days have suggested Intel could lay off more than 20% of its workforce, which numbered about 109,000 employees at the end of last year, including 12,000 in and around Chandler. The semiconductor giant lost $18.8 billion in 2024 amid a flagging performance.

Intel posted a loss of $821 million in the quarter ending March 31, 2025, on revenue of $12.7 billion. That widened from a loss of $437 million, also on $12.7 billion in revenue, during the same stretch in 2024.

New CEO Lip-Bu Tan stressed the need to revamp Intel's culture.

"We are seen as too slow, too complex and too set in our ways — and we need to change," he wrote in the message emailed to all employees and posted on the company's website.

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The new CEO promised bold action but alluded to job reductions starting in the current quarter that might span “several months.”

He vowed actions including a flatter executive team, greater empowerment of the company’s engineers, streamlining teams, cutting back on meetings and reducing the number of people attending meetings.

Tan also called for a return-to-work policy in which some employees who currently spend three days per week on site would be required to spend four days on site, beginning Sept. 1.

“Our competitors are lean, fast and agile — and that’s what we must become to improve our execution,” he said in the message to employees. “I’m a big believer in the philosophy that the best leaders get the most done with the fewest people.”

Tan acknowledged that “these critical changes will reduce the size of our workforce” but also observed that Intel “must balance our reductions with the need to retain and recruit key talent.”

Intel, historically one of Arizona’s largest employers, counted about 13,000 workers as of last September, when The Arizona Republic published its special annual report on the largest statewide employers. A more recent tally pegged Intel’s Arizona workforce closer to 12,000 people. Intel announced 385 Arizona layoffs in October.

The tech giant has a big presence in Chandler, where it has two campuses and manufactures microchips on the sprawling 700-acre Ocotillo campus.

Intel manufactures most of its chips domestically, at complexes in Arizona, Oregon, Texas, California and elsewhere. These items wouldn't be susceptible to tariffs, but the company does import components from China, which could be subject to taxes. In the earnings call, company executives alluded to possible harm for Intel if customers reduce spending in response to tariffs or tariff uncertainty — a concern widely shared in the business community.