Intel Begins Layoffs In Oregon, Arizona As Part Of Broader Overhaul; Retail Traders Stay Positive As Stock Rallies

Intel Corp. (INTC) stock rallied sharply on Tuesday, outperforming its tech peers, as the chipmaker began laying off employees, numbering more than 529, at its Oregon facility, as well as 172 people employed at its Chandler, Arizona plant. 

On Tuesday, Intel stock rallied 7.23% before ending at $23.59, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ETF, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the performances of 100 biggest non-financial tech companies, rose merely 0.06%

The disclosure about the job cuts in the Beaver State came via a notice filed with the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission, in compliance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

The affected ones are from among those employed at the Aloha and three Hillsboro locations.

The layoffs marked the first of the job cuts Intel has planned for the year as it seeks to streamline operations and improve efficiency amid ongoing struggles with strategic missteps.

The company hinted in April that it plans to trim thousands of employees across its businesses, without giving specifics.

Intel’s CFO, David Zinsner, said on the first-quarter earnings call in late April that the company plans to manage its business conservatively in the second half of 2025 due to the uncertain geopolitical and macroeconomic climate.

The chipmaker also stated that it would implement a series of steps, including streamlining the organization and eliminating management layers, to get back on track and reduce its 2025 operating expenditure by more than 20%.

According to Oregonlive.com, Oregon is Intel’s largest manufacturing site, as the chipmaker employs 200,000 people at its campuses in Washington County. The company manufactures new-generation chips and conducts R&D, as well as dispatches staff functions at these facilities. 

The report also stated that Intel was discontinuing its automotive technology business, while planning to outsource its marketing business to the consulting firm Accenture. 

Intel, under its new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, has already laid off 271 employees in California. 

Tan’s predecessor, Pat Gelsinger, also treaded the efficiency route, and under him, the company slashed 15,000 jobs in 2024.

Delving into the latest cut at Oregon, an Intel spokesperson reportedly told OPB in an emailed statement, “We are making these decisions based on careful consideration of what’s needed to position our business for the future.”

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward Intel stock turned to ‘bullish’ (58/100) by late Tuesday from ‘neutral’ a day ago, with the message volume rising to a ‘high’ level from ‘normal’ levels.

The message volume over the past 25 hours, leading up to late Tuesday, increased by about 165%. The stock was among the top five trending tickers on the platform early Wednesday.

A watcher flagged the layoff news as bullish. They said, “This painful transition might be a necessary relief for the company and its investors.” 

“If 70% of the employees were under 35, the stock price would probably triple.”

Some of the optimism followed Intel's announcement of plans to offload 45 million shares of Mobileye Global (MBLY) in a secondary offering. 

Intel stock has gained approximately 18% year-to-date, amid the company’s pursuit of efficiency.

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