Intel to slash key manufacturing and engineering roles
Chipmaker trims capacity planning and engineering teams as new CEO pushes sweeping overhaul.
Three senior executives in Intel’s manufacturing operations are set to retire, the company told Reuters, as new CEO Lip-Bu Tan implements sweeping changes to revive the struggling U.S. chipmaker.
In a staff announcement on Tuesday, Intel said that Kaizad Mistry and Ryan Russell, both corporate vice presidents in the Technology Development Group, would retire, along with Gary Patton, a corporate vice president in Intel’s Design Technology Platform and a former IBM executive.
Intel has also outlined changes to the Technology Development Group, which is responsible for creating the company’s manufacturing processes, according to two people briefed on the matter. The company plans to scale back its manufacturing capacity planning team and reduce parts of its engineering staff, the sources said.
Intel declined to comment on the changes.
The manufacturing division is currently led by Naga Chandrasekaran, a former executive at Micron Technology who was hired about a year ago by then-CEO Pat Gelsinger. In March, Chandrasekaran’s responsibilities were expanded to include both manufacturing and technology development. Since then, he has reorganized teams under his leadership, including implementing layoffs as part of Intel’s broader global cutbacks.
During Intel’s quarterly earnings announcement last week, CEO Tan, who took over in March, said the company aims to reduce its global workforce to 75,000 employees by the end of the year, a roughly 22% cut. He also promised a more disciplined approach to manufacturing investments.
Intel said that its next-generation 14A manufacturing process hinges on securing a new major customer. Without one, the company may suspend or terminate the process altogether.
“We’re developing Intel 14A from the ground up in close partnership with large external customers,” Tan wrote in a memo accompanying the earnings report. “Going forward, our investment in Intel 14A will be based on confirmed customer commitments.”
Tan also told investors that the company’s 18A process would only yield a reasonable return if it is reserved for Intel’s own products. Reuters previously reported in July that Intel has considered halting the offering of 18A technology to external clients to focus more narrowly on 14A.
Despite the internal debate, Intel still plans to begin high-volume manufacturing this year of its Panther Lake PC chips using the 18A process.
