Intel plans to cut 12,000 jobs or around 11% of its overall workforce around the world by the middle of next year with the aim of re-engineering itself to prepare for the long-term decline in the PC industry, its core market. On Thursday, The Oregonian reported that the fallout from Intel’s restructuring will lead to sites closing in at least seven countries.
Ripple effect of Intel’s restructuring
According to an internal company document obtained by the newspaper, recently the world’s largest chip making company notified its employees that it is closing sites in Canada, Japan, the United States, Russia and India. The internal document says that in April, the affected employees in those countries received notifications, but the document does not indicate which sites are closing in each country.
In addition, on Thursday, online tech journal ZDNet reported that the chip maker is closing a site in Bucharest, Romania and is laying off around 200 people there. Also the company is planning to close a site in the city of Ulm and lay off at least 300 employees in Germany, the report said, citing a German magazine report.
The document obtained by The Oregonian stated that decisions were still pending on sites with fewer than 500 employees in Brazil, Canada, Romania, Sweden, Austria, Turkey, Denmark, France and Italy. Now Intel has apparently made a decision about the site in Bucharest, but it is not certain whether decisions have been made about the sites in other countries as well.
Will Intel close sites in the U.S.?
The tech firm has already set out plans to shut down a facility in DuPont, Washington near Olympia. Whether the chip maker is planning to close other sites in the U.S. or not is uncertain, but it does not seem to be closing any Oregon operations. Previously, CEO Brian Krzanich told employees that during the restructuring, the chip maker will not shut down any manufacturing sites in the U.S.
Last month, the chip maker laid off 784 workers in Oregon, and through buyouts, early retirement offers and project cancellations, it will cut many more jobs in Washington County, its largest site worldwide. The chip making giant has started sending layoff notices to some of its Rio Rancho employees, but it has still not clarified that how many workers will be affected at that plant.
On Thursday, Intel shares closed up 0.32% at $31.49. Year to date, the stock is down 10%, while in the last year, it is down almost 6%.
