Lip-Bu Tan, Intel CEO, speaks in a keynote presentation at Intel Foundry Direct Connect on April 29, 2025, in San Jose. Intel announced Thursday it will eliminate 25,000 jobs by the end of 2025 and enforce a return to office policy, as new CEO Lip-Bu Tan moves to streamline operations.
Intel Corp.Intel will cut approximately 25,000 jobs by the end of 2025 as part of a sweeping cost-cutting effort under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who is aiming to reshape the struggling Bay Area chipmaker into a leaner, more competitive enterprise.
The layoffs, which amount to roughly 15% of Intel’s core workforce, were confirmed Thursday alongside the company’s second-quarter earnings report.
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“We are making hard but necessary decisions to streamline the organization, drive greater efficiency and increase accountability at every level of the company,” Tan wrote in a companywide letter. “All of this is designed to drive organizational effectiveness and transform our culture.”
Intel’s global head count will fall to about 75,000 by year’s end, with reductions coming through both layoffs and attrition.
Tan, who took the helm in March, is also implementing a return-to-office mandate by September and scaling back major international factory investments.
“I do not subscribe to the belief that if you build it, they will come,” Tan told analysts. “We will build what customers need, when they need it, and earn their trust.”
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The restructuring comes as Intel works to regain footing against rivals like Nvidia and AMD. Once a dominant force in the semiconductor industry, the company has struggled in recent years to keep pace with the growing demand for mobile and AI chips.
“There are no more blank checks,” Tan said. “Every investment must make economic sense.”