The world of computer chips is shaking things up, and Intel is making some dramatic moves. Instead of growing bigger, the company plans to shrink its operations to save money. This means letting go of a staggering 24,000 employees by 2025. That’s nearly a quarter of their core staff. Intel is also pulling out of major projects in Europe and closing some operations in Central America.
Intel’s latest earnings report for the second quarter of 2025 spelled out the details. The company expects to end 2025 with only 75,000 employees, down from 99,500 at the end of 2024. These massive job cuts will cost Intel a lot, forcing them to set aside nearly $2 billion just for severance pay. This past quarter, Intel lost $2.9 billion, with revenues of $12.9 billion staying flat from last year.
Lip-Bu Tan, the company’s new chief executive, explained why. He said Intel had built too many factories, far more than customers needed. This led to a new plan: build only what customers need when the time comes, instead of betting big ahead of time.
This new strategy includes canceling multi-billion dollar projects in Germany and Poland. These projects were meant to create chip factories and more than 5,000 jobs. Intel is also shutting down chip assembly and testing in Costa Rica, moving that work to Vietnam.
Even a new factory in Ohio, USA, is on hold. Intel wants to see demand pick up first. They promise to invest more carefully, only where they see clear results.
It’s certainly a tough year for Intel. But if this big change works out, this fresh start could put Intel back in the game, strong and proud.