Sasha Hupka
Intel Corp. will lay off 172 workers at its campus in Chandler, according to a regulatory filing.
The news comes after company leaders said they were planning reductions amid an organization-wide overhaul prompted by flagging performance.
Intel officials did not say what types of employees would be most affected by the layoffs, or whether additional rounds of reductions were expected. But media reports suggested that the chipmaker, which is a major employer in Chandler, could cut thousands of jobs across the country.
The company was reportedly eyeing cutting more than 20% of its workforce after it lost $821 million in the quarter ending on March 31. It reported about $12.7 billion in revenue during the same time period. That widened from a loss of $437 million during the same stretch in 2024, which saw roughly the same revenue. Last year, the semiconductor giant lost $18.8 billion in total.
It is due to announce its second quarter earnings on July 24.
Spokesperson Eleonora Akopyan said the ongoing layoffs reflected a move toward "a leaner, faster and more efficient company."
"Removing organizational complexity and empowering our engineers will enable us to better serve the needs of our customers and strengthen our execution," she said in an e-mailed statement. "We are making these decisions based on careful consideration of what’s needed to position our business for the future, and we will treat people with care and respect as we complete this important work."
Struggling chipmaker among state's largest employers
Intel is the largest domestic chip manufacturer in the United States and is historically one of Arizona’s largest employers. Its workforce numbered about 109,000 employees at the end of last year, including 12,000 in and around Chandler.
But the company is increasingly seeing headwinds. Intel has faced manufacturing delays, quality-control issues, marketing errors, expensive acquisitions that didn’t work out, executive management turnover and more in a highly competitive industry.
It struggled to remain viable against tough competition and has seen itself outpaced in developing new technology devoted to mobile devices and artificial intelligence. It has also faced a fight to keep hold of its dominance in personal computer and data center operations.
That has led to layoffs. Intel announced last year that it would cut 385 jobs in Arizona, part of a larger reduction affecting 15,000 of its employees.
At the same time, the company has poured money into building out a chip fabrication business. The company announced in 2021 that it would construct two new "fabs," or chip factories, at its complex in Chandler. Towering construction cranes have been a fixture at the site ever since.
The $20 billion investment was expected to create 3,000 jobs and thousands more for suppliers and support businesses. Last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded the chipmaker nearly $8 billion in direct funding to advance its commercial semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging projects in Arizona and several other states.
Meanwhile, leadership changes were afoot. Longtime CEO Pat Gelsinger was ousted from the company late last year after its board expressed concerns about his turnaround plan.
New CEO Lip-Bu Tan was appointed to his position earlier this year. In April, he told employees that he wanted to revamp Intel's culture. He vowed to flatten the company's executive team, empower its engineers and streamline its teams, among other actions.
He also indicated that doing so would require further reductions, which he said might span "several months."
"We are seen as too slow, too complex and too set in our ways — and we need to change," he wrote in a message emailed to all employees and posted on the company's website.
Sasha Hupka covers utilities and technology for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at [email protected] or 480-271-6387. Follow her on X: @SashaHupka. Connect with her on LinkedIn: Sasha Hupka. Follow her on Instagram or Threads: @sashahupkasnaps. Follow her on Bluesky: @sashahupka.bsky.social.