Intel has told workers at its Irish manufacturing operations that they will be informed next week of job losses, which will be both voluntary and involuntary
Workers at Intel’s Irish operations have been told that they will be informed of voluntary and involuntary job losses at the company next week.
The staff was told in an email that they would be notified “within 72 hours of 4 May” regarding “voluntary and involuntary job losses” as part of a “separation programme”.
The staff has not been told how many losses will occur.
Intel employs 4,500 people in Ireland, primarily at a manufacturing plant in Leixlip, but also at locations in Shannon and Cork.
Last week, Intel announced a major restructuring that will see the company cut 12,000 jobs, or 11pc of its workforce, after Q1 sales, at $13.8bn, reached their lowest level in a decade.
Intel strategy for the future: cloud, things, 5G, programmable chips and Moore’s Law
The company’s CEO Brian Krzanich this week confirmed the end of the PC revolution, expressing his view that PCs would be “things” that will form part of a wider internet of things for which the computer giant intends to build chips.
Krzanich said that there will be five core areas to Intel’s strategy in the coming years: cloud, IoT, 5G, programmable chips and the evolution of Moore’s Law.
The news of the cuts comes after Intel embarked on an expansion of its Irish operations at Leixlip, where it employs close to 5,000 people, to accommodate a move to new chips.
The cuts at Intel are across the board and it was unlikely that Intel’s Irish operations would be able to escape them.
Many of the chips manufactured at Intel’s Leixlip plant are aimed at the cloud and data centres, which positions the plant well for the strategic future of the company.
Not only that, Intel has a number of vice-presidents from Ireland in key strategic roles, including Philip Moynagh, who is the company’s vice-president in charge of internet of things (IoT).
At the CES trade event in Las Vegas earlier this year, Intel revealed a button-sized Curie chip for the IoT and wearables revolution, which was designed in Ireland by a team led by Moynagh and Noel Murphy.
Intel image via Shutterstock
