Government criticises 'speculation' that Irish jobs are at risk as Intel set to cut 20% of staff

LAST UPDATE | 20 hrs ago

THE GOVERNMENT HAS said it is engaging with Intel and major foreign investment agencies amid fears that the global tech giant will announce plans to cut more than 20% of its staff next week.

Citing a person familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reported this morning that the move by Intel is part of a bid to streamline management and rebuild an engineering-driven culture.

The cutbacks follow an effort last year to slash about 15,000 jobs – a round of lay-offs announced in August. Intel had 108,900 employees at the end of 2024, down from 124,800 the previous year.

Among the 108,900 global Intel staff are 4,900 people employed at their chip manufacturing plant in Leixlip, Co Kildare.

Intel also has a plant in Shannon, Co Clare with employs about 300 people – but the company annlounced last year it would close the Clare plant by September.

It is not yet clear if the latest move by Intel to cut 20% of its staff will affect its workers in Ireland.

Enterprise Minister Peter Burke said that the government contiues to engage with Intel, as well as the IDA, Ireland’s foreign direct investment agency, amid what he called “speculation” of job cuts.

Pointing out Ireland’s strong relationship and 35-year history with management in Intel, Burke said that Ireland “continues to play an important role in Intel’s plans as the European hub for manufacturing semiconductors”.

We don’t see speculation around headcount reduction changing this.

“I appreciate speculation is very difficult for staff in Leixlip, and we will continue our engagement with management over the coming weeks and months,” the minister added.

Research and Innovation Minister James Lawless, who is also local TD for North Kildare, said he was confident that the Leixlip operation was well placed to withstand current challenges.

“The Leixlip operation has been in being since 1989 and as recently as 2022, a further €17 billion was committed to expanding the range plant there,” Lawless said in a statement.

“The focus of the Irish operation is in engineering, advanced manufacturing and chip design, these are all critical areas for the company’s future and ones I fully support.”

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Lawless added that it appears Intel’s focus is on “trimming non-core activities”.

“I would suggest the Leixlip workforce is less threatened by that pivot than other locations may be, given the engineering intensive focus of its activity here.”

Fellow North Kildare TD Naoise Ó Cearúil expressed concern about the news of the cuts, saying it was a “deeply difficult and uncertain time” for employees in Intel and for their families, particularly those based in Kildare.

“My thoughts are with all of them today as they face this worrying news. Intel has been a major employer in Kildare for decades, and its presence is central to the local economy,” Ó Cearúil said.

Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly said that Intel must clarify its plans at the earliest possible opportunity, and said that the government must be ready to step in and provide supports if needed.

“Despite the grim headlines today, there is reason for optimism in Leixlip given the huge investment Intel has made in its plant and the high-tech manufacturing that takes place there,” Farrelly added. 

“Won’t be easy”

It is likely that news of the cuts will not be confirmed until tomorrow, when the chipmaker is scheduled to report its first-quarter results.

Last month, Intel appointed tech industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan as its new chief executive, who told the Intel team that it “won’t be easy” to overcome challenges faced by the company.

Tan said last month at the Intel Vision conference that the company needs to replace the engineering talent it has lost, improve its balance sheet and better attune manufacturing processes to the needs of potential customers.

Intel is one of Silicon Valley’s most iconic companies, but its fortunes have been eclipsed by Asian powerhouses TSMC and Samsung, which dominate the made-to-order semiconductor business.

The company was also caught by surprise with the emergence of Nvidia, a graphics chip maker, as the world’s preeminent AI chip provider.

Nvidia’s strength is in chips for powering AI, which are coveted by tech companies competing in that technology.

Intel’s niche has been in chips used in traditional computing processes being eclipsed by the AI range.

Intel Ireland have been contacted for comment.

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