Intel to cut up to 195 jobs in Ireland

Chip making giant is undergoing massive reorganisation

Intel’s Irish base is its second-largest after the US and is paramount to the chipmaker’s global operations.

Intel is to cut up to 195 jobs from its Irish operations as the chipmaker undergoes a massive reorganisation with plans for major employee reductions across its global operations.

The company has notified the Department of Enterprise of the planned redundancies. It is understood that the 195 figure would be at the upper end and that the final number of redundancies could be lower. A consultation period with staff is expected to begin shortly.

A spokesperson for Intel in Ireland would not comment on the possible number of redundancies but said: "As we announced earlier this year, we are taking steps to become a leaner, faster and more efficient company. We are making these decisions based on careful consideration of what’s needed to position our business for the future, and we will treat people with care and respect as we complete this important work."

In April, Intel's new CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the tech giant needed to get back to its roots and become an engineering-focused company and would specifically target the company's bureaucracy with the goal of cutting up to 20% of its global workforce.

"To make necessary investments in our engineering talent and technology roadmaps, we need to find new ways to reduce our costs. While we have taken significant actions in the last year, our current cost structure is still well above competitive benchmarks," he said.

Intel had 108,900 employees at the end of 2024, down from 124,800 the previous year. Of that number, some 5,000 workers are based here in Ireland, concentrated primarily in the company’s campus in Leixlip, Kildare. Some 300 employees are based at the company’s research and development base in Shannon, however, the company announced last year that it would close this facility by the end of 2025 as part of its savings plan.

It is expected that Ireland's operations could be insulated somewhat from the global cuts. Intel’s Irish base is its second-largest after the US and is paramount to the chipmaker’s global operations. Its Leixlip campus is poised to produce the majority of its Intel 4 technology, which includes the company’s extreme ultraviolet (EUV) chips, the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology on the market.