Intel layoffs 2022

Several of Intel's businesses, especially the sales and marketing sector, may suffer layoffs affecting about 20% of the workforce.

Forbes is tracking the biggest layoffs in the U.S. this year as companies react to fears of a looming recession.

After the rate hike—the [first of two](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2022/07/27/fed-raises-interest-rates-by-75-basis-points-again-as-investors-brace-for-recession/?sh=62faf0d32d5a) from the Federal Reserve this summer—economists at S&P Global Ratings [forecast](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2022/06/27/unemployment-will-rise-and-extreme-price-pressures-continue-as-fed-hikes-risk-recession-sp-warns/?sh=53eeb04f7098) a 2.4% drop in GDP by year’s end, a reverse in course from [earlier forecasts](https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2022/06/07/the-economy-may-be-slowing-but-recession-fears-are-overblown-these-experts-argue/?sh=2e62065a39f1) of 2.4% growth. [Washington Post](https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1RDxlggzMEVJL) this summer, U.S. [contracted](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2022/06/29/us-economy-shrank-worse-than-expected-16-last-quarter-as-recession-fears-grow/?sh=1d0317895fd7) 1.6% in the first quarter of the year. Meanwhile, new [data](https://www.bea.gov/data/personal-consumption-expenditures-price-index) from the Department of Commerce found the price of goods increased by a worse-than-expected 6.2% in August, a sign to [economists](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2022/10/01/recession-watch-economic-outlook-darkening-as-experts-worry-fed-could-break-markets/?sh=6aa07d5875c7) that inflation is not letting up, with EY Parthenon predicting a recession. Bank of America issued a [warning](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2022/07/13/us-will-fall-into-recession-this-year-as-worrisome-forces-grow-bank-of-america-warns/?sh=11f7ae22213b) last month that “economic momentum has faded,” and a “mild recession” is possible by the end of the year. In addition to laying off employees, 52% of respondents said they’ve made hiring freezes or plan to. A [report](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2022/08/10/inflation-cpi-july-prices/?sh=220eb6514687) in August from the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed an 8.5% spike in inflation from last July—a sign that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes could be cooling inflation one month after a 9.1% year-over-year spike in June. [Axios](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/13/layoffs-coming-to-warner-bros-discovery) reported, citing unnamed sources, as the company looks to downsize its advertising team representing HBO, CNN, Discovery, Turner and Warner Bros. By October, however, economists once again started fearing the bear market could deepen further into an unavoidable recession, even as a recent Labor Department report showed the unemployment rate hit a [50-year low](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2022/10/07/unemployment-rate-fell-to-35-in-september-as-labor-market-added-263000-jobs/?sh=70f458297fde) of 3.5% in September—0.2% lower than expected. Those fears were reignited following the Federal Reserve’s announcement in June to raise interest rates by 75 basis points, its largest [rate hike](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2022/06/15/fed-authorizes-biggest-interest-rate-hike-in-28-years-as-experts-worry-its-fight-against-inflation-will-spark-recession/?sh=fd5d7d45653e) in 28 years. warehouses were shut down, according to a letter to investors first reported by locations in Silicon Valley and Miami).

The likes of Lenovo, HP, and Dell have all been impacted by a significant drop in PC sales due to global inflation and geopolitical instability, and the steep ...

Intel also plans to sell shares of its Mobileye self-driving technology business in an initial public offering, which has been valued at $30 billion. It has also lost its prime position in microprocessor manufacturing to TSMC and Samsung Electronics. The chipmaker has not yet recovered from the impact of Apple's decision in 2020 to move away from using Intel processors in its Mac computers and adopt custom Apple silicon instead. Earlier this year, Intel said 2022 sales would be around $11 billion lower than it had expected, and analysts are now said to be predicting a third-quarter revenue drop of about 15%. During its second-quarter earnings call, Intel pledged to cut expenses and make other changes to improve profits. The last big wave of layoffs at Intel was in 2016, when about 12,000 people were made redundant.

The news comes amid a steep erosion of demand for processors for PCs and an industry-wide sell-off following a spate of new US export curbs.

American exporters will need to [conduct additional due diligence](https://www.reuters.com/business/us-adds-dozens-chinese-firms-export-control-list-2022-10-07/) before sending goods to companies on the list. Intel lowered its revenue forecast for 2022 from [$76 billion](https://www.intc.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1541/intel-reports-first-quarter-2022-financial-results) in the first quarter of the year, to around [$65 to 68 billion](https://www.intc.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1563/intel-reports-second-quarter-2022-financial-results) in the second quarter, company financials show. [as competition in this space heats up](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-11/intel-is-planning-thousands-of-job-cuts-in-face-of-pc-slowdown) and rivals like Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [fell sharply on Monday](https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-analysis-chinese-semiconductor-chip-stocks-joe-biden-exports-2022-10). [said](https://seekingalpha.com/news/3889934-intel-nvidia-lam-research-most-at-risk-from-china-restrictions-citi) on Monday. [introduced export controls](https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/documents/about-bis/newsroom/press-releases/3158-2022-10-07-bis-press-release-advanced-computing-and-semiconductor-manufacturing-controls-final/file) that will limit the sales of semiconductors made using US technology unless the sellers have an export license. [October 27](https://www.intc.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1582/intel-to-report-third-quarter-2022-financial-results), [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-11/intel-is-planning-thousands-of-job-cuts-in-face-of-pc-slowdown) reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter. [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-11/intel-is-planning-thousands-of-job-cuts-in-face-of-pc-slowdown). [people at the end of 2021](https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/INTC/intel/number-of-employees). [October 27](https://www.intc.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1582/intel-to-report-third-quarter-2022-financial-results). [unverified list](https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/policy-guidance/lists-of-parties-of-concern/unverified-list)" in further attempts to hamstring Beijing's tech development. [introduced export controls](https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/documents/about-bis/newsroom/press-releases/3158-2022-10-07-bis-press-release-advanced-computing-and-semiconductor-manufacturing-controls-final/file)which could limit the sales of semiconductors made using US technology.

Apple, China, and slumping PC sales are to blame. Intel layoffs loom: Chipmaker reportedly plans to make its biggest job cuts in years. [Photo ...

- How could the layoffs impact Intel investors? However, at the time of this writing, INTC stock is up 1% in pre-market trading, suggesting investors see layoffs as a way to help boost the company’s bottom line. - What has Intel said about the reported layoffs? If the report is accurate, the job cuts will likely be the largest since the chipmaker laid off around 12,000 workers in 2016—then about 12% of its headcount. If the report is accurate, Bloomberg says the job cuts will likely number “in the thousands.” As of July 2022, Intel had 113,700 employees. Late Tuesday, Bloomberg released a report that Intel was readying “a major reduction in headcount” in which “thousands” of jobs could go.

The layoffs will be announced as early as this month, to cut costs and cope with a sputtering personal-computer market.

[regain its footing](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-27/intel-chasing-a-comeback-unveils-new-processors-and-software) in the industry by releasing new PC processors and graphics semiconductors. On Tuesday, Google [unveiled](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-11/google-goog-expands-cloud-to-more-regions-adds-new-ai-capabilities) new Intel-powered technology for its server farms that will help speed artificial intelligence tasks. [last big wave of layoffs](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-19/intel-cuts-12-000-jobs-forecast-misses-as-pc-blight-takes-toll) occurred in 2016, when it trimmed about 12,000 jobs, or 11% of its total. [warned](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-28/intel-posts-sizable-miss-on-quarterly-sales-slashes-forecast) that 2022 sales would be about $11 billion lower than it previously expected. The news sent shares of chipmakers tumbling anew, with Intel falling 5.4% that day. At the same time, the company is under intense pressure from investors to shore up its profits. PC sales tumbled 15% in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to IDC. Gelsinger is planning a building boom that includes bringing the world’s biggest chipmaking hub to Ohio. Now a broader slowdown is adding to those challenges. During its second-quarter earnings call, Intel acknowledged that it could make changes to improve profits. In July, the company 27, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private.

According to various sources, the American chipmaker is planning to lay off thousands of employees, with some divisions slashed by as much as 20%.

“The rollout of 5G technology over the next five years will likely drive sales of 5G mobile phones, which require new semiconductors. The overall outlook for semiconductors looks promising, according to S&P Global. Intel’s advantage is that it has fabrication capabilities, which is why export curbs shouldn’t really affect the company in the long term. Intel 4-based products are expected to be available by 2023. Intel competes with TSMC, Samsung, United Microelectronics Corporation, and GlobalFoundries, among others, in fabrication. Conversely, the company Sources told Bloomberg that the layoffs could be timed with the company’s Q3 2022 earnings call scheduled on October 27, 2022. Intel is reportedly trying to cut costs by letting go of a significant chunk of its workforce. [ban on the export of tech used in 3 nm](https://www.spiceworks.com/tech/tech-general/news/us-bans-export-of-semiconductor-tech/) node production is unlikely to impact Intel, given it is currently transitioning to 7 nm (Intel 4) while its competitors are far ahead (also one of the reasons why it slid behind NVIDIA as the largest American chipmaker by market capitalization. Intel Reportedly Planning Major Layoffs Following Dwindling PC Sales in Q2 2022 [Micron To Invest $100B To Build the Largest Memory Chip Fabrication Unit in the U.S.](https://www.spiceworks.com/tech/hardware/news/micron-semiconductor-investment-new-york/) [report](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-11/intel-is-planning-thousands-of-job-cuts-in-face-of-pc-slowdown), some of Intel’s divisions, such as the sales and marketing group, could shrink by as much as 20%.