Falling PC sales and the rise of the internet of things and the cloud are prompting Intel to lay off 11pc of its global workforce.
Chip giant Intel has announced a major restructuring that will see the company cut 12,000 jobs, or 11pc of its global workforce.
The world’s biggest semiconductor maker said that it is shifting its focus to chips for the cloud and internet of things (IoT).
The company announced disappointing first quarter revenues with sales falling to their lowest level in a decade. The company reported Q1 revenues of $13.8bn.
The company said that second quarter revenues will be about $13.5bn, short of analyst estimates of $14.2bn.
Global personal computer shipments fell 11.5pc in the first quarter, tech research company IDC said on Monday.
Intel did not specify where the cuts will occur. Most of its manufacturing is in the US, Ireland and Israel. The company has embarked on a major expansion of its Irish operations at Leixlip, where it employs close to 5,000 people, to accommodate a move to new chips.
Intel said that the data centre and IoT businesses are Intel’s primary growth engines, with memory and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) accelerating these opportunities.
CEO Brian Krzanich said these growth businesses delivered $2.2bn in revenue growth last year, and made up 40pc of revenue and the majority of operating profit, which largely offset the decline in the PC market segment.
“Our results over the last year demonstrate a strategy that is working and a solid foundation for growth,” said Krzanich. “The opportunity now is to accelerate this momentum and build on our strengths.
“These actions drive long-term change to further establish Intel as the leader for the smart, connected world,” he added. “I am confident that we’ll emerge as a more productive company with broader reach and sharper execution.”
Intel image via Shutterstock
