Intel plans to cut over 20% of staff in major overhaul 

Intel is reportedly preparing to lay off more than 20 per cent of its staff, in the chip makers bid to streamline its operations. 

Since the news broke, shares in the US company rose 6 per cent, but have lost around 40 per cent of their value in the last year. 

The reported layoffs would come after Intel’s new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, warned employees last month that “hard decisions” lay ahead for the company.

The potential workforce reduction represents a major strategic shift for Intel, which has been struggling to maintain its competitive position in the semiconductor industry.

The chipmaker has also been plagued by turnover at the executive level, as employees leave for rivals like TSMC and Nvidia or taking early retirement packages.

Once the dominant force in chip manufacturing, Intel, the only US chip manufacturer capable of producing leading-edge semiconductors at scale,  has faced mounting challenges in recent years as the market increasingly focuses on AI capabilities and specialised processing power, like mega competitor Nvidia which dominates the AI chip design space.