Intel Reportedly Plans Thousands of Layoffs Amid PC Market Slowdown

[MacRumors]

Intel plans to slash its employee numbers by the thousands in a bid to cut costs in the face of the slowing global PC market, a new Bloomberg report has claimed.

The company's sales and marketing teams could see cuts affecting around 20% of staff, said the report, citing people with knowledge of the matter who wished to remain anonymous.

The "major reduction in headcount" hasn't officially been made public, but it is expected to be announced as early as this month around the time of Intel's third-quarter earnings report on October 27. The last big wave of layoffs at Intel was in 2016, when about 12,000 people were made redundant. Based on the last count in July, Intel currently has around 113,700 staff.

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 decline in demand for PC processors has negatively affected Intel's revenue.

Worldwide PC shipments went into free-fall in the third quarter, with overall sales declining by 18%, according to numbers compiled by Canalys. IDC provided similar findings, with sales falling over 15%, while Gartner reported PC shipments down 19.6% over the same quarter.

However, Intel's shares have been hit harder than other chipmakers as it struggles to win back market share lost to rivals like AMD. 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%. Intel's margins are also on the decline.

During its second-quarter earnings call, Intel pledged to cut expenses and make other changes to improve profits. Still, the short-term outlook remains poor. 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. It has also lost its prime position in microprocessor manufacturing to TSMC and Samsung Electronics.

To counter market conditions and boost innovation, Intel is looking to sell more advanced AI-powered chips to the data-center market and is working with TSMC to build chips using the Taiwanese foundry's 5nm process. 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.

Article Link: Intel Reportedly Plans Thousands of Layoffs Amid PC Market Slowdown

 

[WiiDSmoker]

I willing to bet that this is because phones and tablets are replacing computers for most users and not due to quality/Windows OS.

Outside of work; I only use my iPhone and iPad w/ Magic Keyboard. I definitely do desire a new Macbook Pro + Studio Display but it's a want rather than a true necessity. Could easily buy one now, but I wouldn't gain much due to the phone/tablet fulfilling any and all needs.

All that said; M Series is a game changer and shows clear advantages over X86.

 

[Ashbash75]

Also the prices of Raptor lake CPU's, MB's, DDR5 & RTX4000 are just silly money. I mean £380 for a i5!!!!

 

[djcerla]

Business doing great: praises self.

Business disrupted by better technology: blames geopolitical instability.

 

[coolbreeze2]

Not only is AMD successfully competing against Intel but Mac desktops and tablets, Linux desktops, and Android tablets are competitors for PCs. Intel isn't winning.

Hey where is Intel's competitor to Apple's M1 and M2?

 

[madmin]

Hopefully this is a lesson to other large companies who prioritise short term profits to the detriment of their customers.

 

[ian87w]

Yeah, those ad campaign using Justin “Mac” Long was not such a great investment eh intel? 😂

 

[lostPod]

I willing to bet that this is because phones and tablets are replacing computers for most users and not due to quality/Windows OS.

Outside of work; I only use my iPhone and iPad w/ Magic Keyboard. I definitely do desire a new Macbook Pro + Studio Display but it's a want rather than a true necessity. Could easily buy one now, but I wouldn't gain much due to the phone/tablet fulfilling any and all needs.

All that said; M Series is a game changer and shows clear advantages over X86.

I find myself using my iPad Pro exclusively now for PC like production, even design work. But especially for web development (unless I have to run the app obviously). Also doing Remote Desktop into one of my macs is a gem as well.

 

[laptech]

Talking from a relatives point of view with a big family, I believe the issue is more to do with as others have pointed out, people have moved away from the traditional desktop and laptop to do their basics which was school college work, watch youtube videos and to play games. Many years ago it was not uncommon to see many of my relatives, young and old with laptops on tables or on their laps watching videos or playing games. Now i've noticed that the laptops have gone and been replaced with mobile phones or ipads. As for gaming, in comes the xbox or playstation. The only time now i see a laptop being used is when one of my school aged relatives are using one to do their homework.

I do believe that global inflation and geopolitical instability is having an affect but not a greater threat as one might believe. I believe it is as others have pointed out, people have moved with technology and that technology is with mobile phones and tablets.

 

[shadowmatt]

Intel needs to start selling their CPUs at reasonable prices.

Like Nvidia, in recent years they have pushed their prices up due to demand, lack of supply and popularity.

£350 for an i5, never mind the DD5, GPU etc... means that PS5 / xBox looks way more than reasonable when picking a gaming device.

Hell a Steam Desk is £350 and seems to make a decent platform for gaming.

 

[heystu]

This is just common practice for any public company - reduce costs by laying off staff = happier shareholders. It's harsh but that's how business works.

 

[BanjoDudeAhoy]

I’m no expert but my feeling is that Intel got a bit complacent because their Core series did so well.
Then AMD overtook them and they’ve been struggling ever since, no?

If I were to build a gaming PC these days, it would be AMD rather than Intel. Not that I will do that because I’m almost exclusively playing on consoles these days.

And for everything else… well, I mostly have Apple devices that aren’t running Intel, either :\

 

[t0rqx]

Hopefully this is a lesson to other large companies who prioritise short term profits to the detriment of their customers.

Sadly Apple is slowly showing the same behaviour.

 

[exoticSpice]

Sadly Apple is slowly showing the same behaviour.

Apple always has shown this but they plan long term

 

[rwalle]

> The company's sales and marketing teams could see cuts affecting around 20% of staff

Does it mean we will see fewer ads like this?

 

[iPhaithful]

I willing to bet that this is because phones and tablets are replacing computers for most users and not due to quality/Windows OS.

Outside of work; I only use my iPhone and iPad w/ Magic Keyboard. I definitely do desire a new Macbook Pro + Studio Display but it's a want rather than a true necessity. Could easily buy one now, but I wouldn't gain much due to the phone/tablet fulfilling any and all needs.

All that said; M Series is a game changer and shows clear advantages over X86.

I literally just said this to myself, I only use my iPad w/ Magic Keyboard and iPhone primarily. When I’m at a desktop or even laptop, its usually for work.

 

[progx]

Hopefully this is a lesson to other large companies who prioritise short term profits to the detriment of their customers.

It never is a lesson for any major company. Make as much money as you can and winner takes all. That’s how most companies work these days.

 

[Leon Ze Professional]

I feel sorry for the affected staff, but the writing has been on the wall for Intel for a number of years.

 

[femike]

Microsoft unwarranted cut-off of Intel 7th gen processors for Windows 11 wasn't enough it seems. Good that people are not buying into this.

I have two Intel 7th gen laptops, and I do not intend on replacing them with anything new from Intel. One already had Linux (Kubuntu) on it. The other has Windows 10 which Microsoft has not allowed to install Win 11, so it gonna stay on Win 10 or Linux goes on it.

 

[syklee26]

Intel’s business model is outdated and their executives are not nimble.

At least Lisa Hsu moves quickly and does her best to move AMD to the right direction.

Sooner than later, Intel will become nothing more than a foundry praying that US government placing heavy restriction to foreign foundries.

 

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

I have Mac Mini M1 16 GB. Best spent money. Everything is flying.

 

[progx]

I willing to bet that this is because phones and tablets are replacing computers for most users and not due to quality/Windows OS.

Outside of work; I only use my iPhone and iPad w/ Magic Keyboard. I definitely do desire a new Macbook Pro + Studio Display but it's a want rather than a true necessity. Could easily buy one now, but I wouldn't gain much due to the phone/tablet fulfilling any and all needs.

All that said; M Series is a game changer and shows clear advantages over X86.

This trend was starting before COVID. Personally, I can think of many people I know whom haven’t purchased any kind of PC since 2008-2012.

You can almost trace it to the arrival of the iPad, then people started to wonder what’s the point of having these bulky boxes at my desk or a heating pad on my lap?

COVID spurred new PC purchases due to people moving into their homes for work. Whether permanent or temporary, companies were in a rush to buy up technology for their workers to have tools. Once the dust settled, then we were back to the reality of the PC world in general.

AMD is doing pretty well against Intel. Ryzen came in and punched Intel’s Core line in the mouth and hasn’t stopped yet. Also, AMD isn’t afraid of the future and is working on Arm SOCs themselves, though they’re not going to release it just yet; including with Samsung with Radeon graphic cores. Qualcomm is coming in hot with their “M1 killer” too, so the next few years are going to be bumpy.

Steve Jobs did say, after the iPad 2’s launch, “the PC is dead and we’re now in the post-PC world.”

 

[progx]

Intel’s business model is outdated and their executives are not nimble.

Intel’s executives were more concerned with stock buybacks than investment. They still tried to double down on it even after all their troubles.

 

[Wanted797]

Business doing great: praises self.

Business disrupted by better technology: blames geopolitical instability.

Business doing great: bonuses for executives.

Business disrupted by better technology: lay-off the workers.

 

[MysticCow]

It's almost as if a trillion-dollar company has stopped using their processors or something...