Intel to slash thousands of jobs as PC sales slowed down

Intel Corporation is reportedly planning to lay off thousands of employees as sales of personal computers have significantly slowed down. The tech company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, may announce the job cuts around the time of its upcoming earnings report.

It was reported that the layoffs would be company-wide but will mostly affect the sales and marketing units. The news was shared by people who are familiar with the situation on Tuesday, Oct. 11.

According to Reuters, the job cuts will result in 20% of Intel Co.’s total workforce being let go. As of July, the company has 113,700 employees. In that month, Intel also trimmed down its annual sales and profit forecasts as it missed estimates for the Q2 results.

The steep decline in PC sales was blamed on decades-high inflation. The economic situation pushed companies and schools to spend less on computers.

Intel Corp. is apparently reducing the headcount of its workers to cut costs and cope with the dwindling PC market. In other words, the move is a measure to prevent more losses and keep the business going. The third quarter earnings report has been scheduled on Oct. 27, so people will lose their jobs around this time.

Bloomberg was the first media outlet to report about Intel’s layoff plans due to the low demand for PC processors, which is its main business. Sales dropped by 15% in the third quarter from the previous year. Brands that use Intel’s processors in their desktops and laptops, including Dell Technologies, HP Inc., and Lenovo Group, have all reported a decline in their sales.

Moreover, Intel is now trying to regain the market share it lost to its competitors, such as Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) and Nvidia Corp. The company is making an effort to reach this goal by launching new PC processors and graphics semiconductors.

Meanwhile, the last big layoffs at Intel happened in 2016 when it terminated 12,000 jobs which was equivalent to 11% of its workforce at that time. Since then, the company has only been making small job cuts but has closed down several units in the company, including its drone and cellular modem divisions.