AMD, Intel, Nvidia Slow Hirings as Economy Falters

Prominent tech players AMD, Intel and Nvidia have been slowing the pace of new hires as a cost-cutting measure that'll allow them to better weather the ongoing economic downturn. According to Planet3DNow!, who scoured open hiring positions available on all three players' websites, there's been a reduction in available positions at all three companies. This signals that they are trying not to increase their operating expenses in such a cloudy economic environment.

AMD's hiring reduction is easily the least significant, likely reflecting the company's stellar Q2 results, which led to a 70% increase in revenue and locked approximately $447 million in profits. This is a company whose execution (since being helmed by Lisa Su) has placed it on a clearly upwards trajectory. And with such strong results, it's not surprising that the company is focusing on capturing additional talent that will help it deliver in the coming years. 

The company's 4% reduction in open hire positions in the last week could simply mean that AMD filled some of the previously available ones. But, at the same time, AMD is now in the top spot for open positions, beating both Intel and Nvidia with its 2,701 work offers.

Out of all three, Nvidia's slowdown is the most significant: the company's available positions have been reduced by 68% since May 7th, with 18% of that contraction happening in the last week alone. This led the company's open positions to fall from a high of 3,555 just four months ago down to just 1,114 at the time of writing - less than two-thirds of its high.

The company already confirmed a slowdown in hiring back in May. However, being a multibillion-dollar company, Nvidia didn't want to place itself in what could be seen as a vulnerable position by investors. The company claimed it was simply allowing more time to "better onboard thousands of recent hires."

Those hires may take a bit longer to acclimate than expected.

As for Intel, the company's hiring slowdown is even more conspicuous. In addition, the company recently delivered an eye-opening $500 million loss for Q2, almost mirroring AMD's earnings. This prompted CEO Pat Gelsinger to admit to the company's execution flaws with the promise of future improvements.

Likely related, Intel's open positions decline too is significant; the company went from having almost double AMD's job offers in May (6,092 vs 3,439) to having 168 fewer (2,533 vs 2,701) at the time of writing. But there's a slight caveat to Intel's slowdown in hiring: it seems the company is more focused on acquisitions as of late, and that's where it might actually be redirecting its capital. 

And let's not forget the billions of dollars the company has committed to a series of new manufacturing facilities across the U.S. and Europe. It remains to be seen how - and if - Intel's open positions reduction will impact its factory expansions. However, one thing is sure: semiconductor manufacturers have been fighting for qualified workers for a while now.

It's almost certain that all three companies are shifting their hiring strategy towards retaining the talent they already have rather than onboarding new employees. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is primarily responsible for today's economic downturn, but tensions are high - and climbing higher - elsewhere. Taiwan, home to the world's leading semiconductor foundries thanks to TSMC, is in a seemingly precarious position with China. A Chinese missile and scores of military airplanes (numbering 22) violating Taiwanese airspace after U.S. House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit do little to assuage worldwide fears of conflict. Uncertainty breeds turmoil in the economy, and companies have to ensure they have sufficient capital to weather further economic spiraling.