Intel job losses in Ireland not inevitable, minister says | Breaking News & Latest Ireland Updates

Intel job losses in Ireland not inevitable, minister says — Work & Technology Correspondent The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment has said he did not believe it was inevitable that there would be jo...

Work & Technology Correspondent

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment has said he did not believe it was inevitable that there would be job losses at Intel in Ireland.

Peter Burke met managers of the computer company today, after it reported plans a week ago to cut jobs globally.

Mr Burke said the Government is doing all it could to support workers at Intel, which employs almost 5,000 people at its plant in Leixlip, Co Kildare.

He said Intel has been an "exceptional company" that has provided "huge value" to the Irish economy.

"It's very uncertain at the moment. I can't go into confidential briefings with Intel, but the Government is really committed to supporting Intel. I'm in discussions with Intel, as I always am," he said on RTÉ's Morning Ireland today.

A spokesperson for the Department of Enterprise said the meeting was part of the minister's regular engagement with the company.

"The minister's department and IDA Ireland are also in ongoing contact with Intel," the spokesperson said.

"It is likely to be several weeks before detail is available on the impact to its Irish operation of any cost reduction measures the company may introduce."

"While acknowledging that this is an incredibly anxious time for Intel’s staff, it is positive that the company have stated that they will continue to focus investment on their core business, the manufacturing of semiconductor products. This is the primary activity in Ireland," the department said.

The Intel layoffs mark the first major move under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who took over earlier this year to revive the struggling Silicon Valley chipmaker after years of challenges.

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The new trajectory involved restructuring Intel's AI strategy and implementing staff cuts to address what the CEO described as a slow-moving and bloated middle management layer.

Shortly after his appointment, he told employees in a town hall that the company will have to make "tough decisions."

The planned layoffs follow a significant reduction in Intel's workforce last August, when the company said it planned to cut 15% of its jobs, or approximately 15,000 positions.

The job cuts in 2024, part of a $10 billion cost-reduction plan aimed for this year, were driven by high costs, shrinking margins in Intel's core PC and data centre segments, and an expensive pivot to AI chips - an area where Intel has trailed competitors such as Nvidia.