Intel to axe 24,000 roles, cancels factory plans in sweeping cost-cutting move

Intel has announced plans to cut its global workforce by 15% and cancelled plans to build new chip factories in Germany and Poland.

The chip giant's decision comes fresh off the back of its Q2 2025 results, in which it reported flat year-on-year revenue of $12.9 billion, higher than analyst expectations of $11.92 billion but still resulting in an overall net loss of $2.9 billion across the quarter.

In light of the results, the firm has announced a strict new focus on long-term growth and regaining lost market share, to be realized in the short term through cuts.

Intel plans to end the year with approximately 75,000 employees, with its management layers also trimmed by 50%.

"All of this is designed to drive organizational effectiveness and transform our culture. We will become a faster, more agile, and more vibrant company," explained Intel chief executive Lip-Bu Tan in a statement.

"We will eliminate bureaucracy and empower engineers to innovate with greater speed and focus. And we will reduce our costs to enable investments in future growth. These are the building blocks of a new Intel – and we took important steps in the right direction in Q2."

Just last month, Intel announced new senior engineering hires, even as it warned that its wider workforce were facing job cuts. At the time, staff were told the cuts could target 15% to 20% of the workforce.

The firm has also instituted a full return to office (RTO) policy, which will come into effect in September.

Intel's 18A and 14A manufacturing strategies were intended to reduce the firm's reliance on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC), but have so far not delivered on this promise.

Earlier this month, Tan told employees that Intel is "not in the top 10 semiconductor companies" any longer, according to reporting by OregonLive.

Writing ahead of the results, Alvin Nguyen, senior analyst at Forrester, said that Tan's comments necessitate a clearer strategy on regaining Intel's lost market position.

"Layoffs in the foundry business and the possibility of refocusing customers from 18A onto 14A need to be addressed," Nguyen wrote.

"Intel's 18A was supposed to bring the company back to semiconductor leadership, however, the layoffs impacting foundries around the world could reflect more than just cost-cutting – for example, it could be down to taking a more strategic focus on specific fabric technology and capacity."