It looks like the drawn-out PC sales slump is claiming more than a few casualties.
Intel, the same company that at CES 2015 made a commitment to “reach full representation of women and underrepresented minorities” by 2020, is now set to shed around 11 per cent of its global workforce.
This amounts to up to 12,000 employees.
While the “majority” of staff to be cut will find out within 60 days, others will have to wait until 2017.
The company had pledged $300 million in this effort. In February, it released a report suggesting it made good progress in its first year, reaching 40 per cent diversity among new employees by increasing the number of women hired by nearly 43 per cent, and the number of underrepresented minorities (that is, non-Asians) hired by 31 per cent.
The announcement has called into question Intel’s commitment to diversity, which the company has since publicly reaffirmed, as well as whether targets will be achieved through these layoffs as opposed to hires.
The announcement this week is meant to “accelerate [Intel’s] evolution from a PC company to one that powers the cloud and billions of smart, connected computing devices,” the company said in a statement. Earlier this month, the chip maker announced technologies to help enable software-defined infrastructure (SDI) and cloud flexibility.
The company said that restructuring will hopefully save it $750 million in 2016, and $1.4 billion annually starting next year. Intel is also looking for a new CFO to replace Stacy Smith, who will be shifted to a different executive position.
It listed data center, IoT, memory, connectivity businesses, 2-in-1s, gaming, and home gateways as sectors for growth.
