Unclear How Many Oregon Workers Will Lose Their Intel Jobs in Latest Cutback

Amid plummeting stock prices, Intel announced yesterday that it is going to cut 15,000 jobs in a massive drive to cut costs.

How many Oregon workers will lose their jobs in the latest cutback is unclear, but what is painfully obvious is that it will have a dramatic impact on the local economy as Intel is the largest employer in the state.

After yesterday’s shock announcement, Intel stock plummeted in after-hours trading, dropping by 19% to $23.56 and, if that trend continues today, the company will suffer its lowest stock point in a decade.

Job Losses Will Start Next Week

Oregon’s largest corporate employer has informed employees that the cutbacks will begin next week. These will entail retirement incentives, buyouts, and layoff notices.

Intel plans to slash $10 billion from its expenditure budget for the next year and will also suspend shareholder dividends.

In-House Perks Will Become a Thing of the Past

In a letter to employees, CEO Pat Gelsinger says many perks will be eliminated as part of the cutback. Freebies like free food and beverages and fitness coaches in Intel gyms and will be no more. Sabbaticals will be offered less often, and the value of employee stock purchase programs will be reduced.

The company is also permanently grounding the corporate Intel Air Shuttle fleet of jets used to transport employees to major Intel sites in western U.S.

The severity of the 15% across-the-board staff cutbacks is an acknowledgement of the failure of Intel’s costly turnaround program that did not yield the expected results.

Yesterday, employees learned that the size of the job losses will vary according to department, and that workers will start receiving termination notices by early October. The workforce culling is scheduled for completion by November 15.

Oregon is Intel’s Biggest Operation with a Workforce Exceeding 23,000

Intel’s headquarters are in California’s Silicon Valley, but its most advanced and biggest operation is centered near Portland in Oregon where more than 23,000 advanced manufacturing workers and scientists develop computer chips to compete with rivals such as AMD and Nvidia.

Last year, when Intel cut 5,000 jobs across the company, it increased the workforce by 1,000 net jobs at its Oregon campus in Hillsboro.

Intel has forecast an 8% revenue drop in the current quarter and says that after losing $1.6 billion in spring, it is continuing to bleed money.

In his letter to workers, CEO Gelsinger says company costs are too high, and sales are failing to meet predicted forecasts. The cutbacks must be made because of a 24% revenue loss, coupled to a 10% increase in the number of employees since 2020.

The last two years have not been easy for Intel workers who have endured sweeping layoffs and cuts to salaries and bonuses. While Intel later restored some of the workers’ losses through stock grants, the company’s poor share price has depressed the value of these.