Intel plans to cut back its global workforce of 107,000 employees by approximately 5% this year as the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturing company shifts its priorities.
The announcement comes one day after Intel announced its fourth quarter earnings in a conference call that featured CEO Brian Krzanich acknowledging that the company had overestimated PC chip demand three years ago when it began planning the construction of Fab 42, the opening of which it cancelled earlier this week.
Intel spokesman Chris Kraeute confirmed the figure but could not give further details. Instead, he referred to “critical decisions to align our resources to meet the need of our business,” adding, “We regularly make sure that our human resources are matched up with our business need. And right now we are re-prioritizing certain activities and these can lead to movement in our workforce.”
As for when and how this decision is to be carried out, Kraeute said he could not be more specific than to say that Intel expects to exit the year 2014 with five percent fewer workers than it currently has, and that this would occur over the course of the year. “As a business we are responding to evolving market trends, so we want to match up to that,” Kraeute said.
Reuters initially broke the story citing Kraeute on Friday.
