Intel is handing out pink slips. The Oregonian reported on Friday that the company laid off hundreds of workers in the U.S. and Costa Rica last week.
This is said to be the most workers Intel had laid off in recent memory, though it pales in comparison to the 16,000 people who lost their jobs in 2016 and 2017 when the company restructured.
According to the report, Intel didn't lay off the employees specifically as a cost-cutting measure. It simply decided to "consolidate operations under a single contractor, the Indian technology giant Infosys," and that means it won't need as many managers as before.
Intel confirmed the layoffs to The Oregonian and said: “Changes in our workforce are driven by the needs and priorities of our business, which we continually evaluate. We are committed to treating all impacted employees with professionalism and respect."
These layoffs seem unlikely to affect Intel's long-term plans. The company is actually projected to create 1,750 jobs in Oregon as part of the expansion of the D1X factory in Hillsboro.
Nor are the layoffs set to affect Intel's ability to produce enough CPUs to meet demand. (Something much of the computer industry at large is waiting for.)
Instead, the layoffs seem to be a mere byproduct of Intel's attempts to simplify the way it works. While that probably won't help the affected workers, it could help Intel, especially if this simplification allows it to respond to market changes quicker than it is now.
