With its current sales down by more than 20%, Intel is cutting back. It says:
The company plans to close two existing assembly test facilities in Penang, Malaysia and one in Cavite, Philippines, and will halt production at Fab 20, an older 200mm wafer fabrication facility in Hillsboro, Ore. Additionally, wafer production operations will end at the D2 facility in Santa Clara, Calif.
These actions "are expected to affect between 5,000 and 6,000 employees worldwide," but the number of lay-offs will be smaller. Some staff will be offered other positions at Intel.
As Reuters notes:
The announcement comes a day after the world's largest maker of microprocessors used in personal computers slashed prices on a number of its processors, and a week after it reported a decline in fourth-quarter revenue amid slower global demand.
It's a big change from the days when PC manufacturers had to compete to get all the chips they wanted.
Less than a week ago, smaller rival AMD said it planned to cut 1,100 staff, or 9% of its workforce. This followed a loss of 600 jobs last month, and 1,600 jobs earlier last year. Senior staff have taken a pay cut.
