Intel To Slash 10,500 Jobs

[MichaelM]

Saw this article in one of my email subscriptions yesterday. Then saw the news on the telly this morning.

Intel To Slash 10,500 Jobs
http://www.crn.com/sections/breakingnews/breakingnews.jhtml?articleId=192501828

By Mark LaPedus, EE Times
4:21 PM EDT Tue. Sep. 05, 2006

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Embattled Intel Corp. on Tuesday (Sept. 5) outlined anticipated cost-cutting measures, including plans to cut 10,500 jobs through layoffs and attrition.

In addition, Intel (Santa Clara, Calif.) said that it expects to achieve a "capital expenditure avoidance" of $1 billion by better utilizing manufacturing equipment and space. This is the third time Intel has cut its capital spending in recent times.

Although Intel did not elaborate on its capital expenditure cuts, the company said it expects to generate savings in costs and operating expenses of approximately $2 billion in 2007. In 2008 the company expects savings from this restructuring to grow to approximately $3 billion annually.

The savings are a combination of non-workforce related steps and a significant reduction in Intel's workforce. The company's headcount is projected to decline to approximately 95,000 by the end of this year, resulting from workforce reductions, attrition and previously announced actions, according to Intel.

Its workforce will decline to approximately 92,000 by the middle of 2007 - 10,500 fewer than the company's employee population at the end of the second quarter of 2006. In addition to the savings from the workforce reduction, the company expects savings in merchandising expenses capital and materials.

Most job reductions this year will occur in management, marketing and information technology functions, reductions related to the previously announced sale of businesses, and attrition.

In 2007, the reductions will be more broadly based as Intel improves labor efficiency in manufacturing, improves equipment utilization, eliminates organizational redundancies, and improves product design methods and processes. The company expects that approximately 25 percent of the project's savings in 2007 will reduce cost of sales, and the rest will reduce operating expenses.

In 2008, the company expects the cost and operating expense savings from this restructuring to grow to approximately $3 billion as it achieves the full-year run rate on the projects implemented in 2007.


The company expects severance costs to total approximately $200 million, offsetting some of the expected savings from the project's implementation.

"These actions, while difficult, are essential to Intel becoming a more agile and efficient company, not just for this year or the next, but for years to come," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and chief executive, in a statement.

Intel is currently in its quiet period, so an update to its business outlook will not be made at this time. The earnings release for the third quarter of this year is scheduled for publication Oct. 17.

The deep and painful cuts were expected this week, but the rumors have been running rampant about the layoffs since July. As reported, Intel was expected to cut from 10,000 to 15,000 workers as part of a major "overhaul" at the company. The chip giant has some 100,000 employees worldwide.

The major job cuts were expected in July, but Intel reportedly delayed the move. Instead, the chip giant fired 1,000 managers as part of an effort to cut $1 billion in costs.

Other rumors about Intel were circulating over the weekend. As part of its major cost-cutting efforts, Intel could delay a pair of new 300-mm fab projects in Europe and the United States, according to online reports on Tuesday.

In any case, it's been a tumultuous period for Intel. Hit hard by the PC slowdown and stiff competition, Intel in April said that it planned to restructure the company. Paul Otellini, chief executive of Intel, told analysts he planned an overhaul that would impact "every part" of the company.

In doing so, Intel has begun to shed its unprofitable operations. The recent sale of Intel's XScale business to Marvell Technology reduced Intel's head count by 1,400, he said.

Last month, Montreal-based media processing hardware/software vendor Eicon Networks Corp. has agreed to buy the assets of Intel's media and signaling business for an undisclosed amount. Intel said the media and signaling business includes approximately 600 employees.

The problem for Intel is clear: the company has failed to expand beyond its x86-based microprocessor business. And even its core processor is under pressure from rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

Recently, Intel has expanded its efforts on the server space for good reason. For some time, the chip giant has been losing market share in the server space to AMD.

To reverse its misfortunes, Intel recently rolled out its new Woodcrest processor line, based on the Core 2 Duo architecture. The Woodcrest processors are apparently for dual-processor servers, while the Tulsa chips are for high-end systems.

Last month, Intel rolled out 10 microprocessors, including its next-generation, codenamed Conroe and Merom chips for desktops and notebooks, respectively.

Chalking this up as another flag for the worsening US economy.

 

[Russ]

Well, one of their problems is that its main competetor, AMD, really has taken a large chunk of intels customers. I mean, their Athlon 64 pretty much dominated the gaming/home pc market, and the Opteron CPU with like 8 cores dominated the server/workstation area. Maybe the only good area for Intel has been standard office PCs and laptops. Right now they are moving into competition with AMD on the gaming/home pc front, because their servers still aren't really as good as AMD's as far as I know. The thing is, AMD has yet to release a new CPU - their Opteron and Athlon 64 chips have been out for a long time now, and it seems that if they get their next CPU to hit the mark, they will replace Intel as the leading brand.

So basically what I see, is that Intel "messed up", AMD got better - and Intel is paying for it (and is now trying to recover). But the overall picture does suggest that less and less people are going to be able to afford to upgrade their PC's soon, so even though AMD may take the top spot, it won't be as lucrative as intel had it in the 90's. I suppose though, its kind of like two bulls fighting on marshland, they're both sinking so it doesn't matter who "wins".

 

[Rich]

Good for South East Asia though by taking advantage of cheap labour.

"Intel is investing heavily in Vietnam, which has emerged as a low-cost alternative to manufacturing in China. In February, Intel announced plans to build a US$300 million test and assembly plant in Ho Chi Minh City. When completed, the Ho Chi Minh City site will be Intel's seventh test and assembly plant, joining the ranks of similar facilities in China, the Philippines, Malaysia and Costa Rica.

The Ho Chi Minh City plant is expected to eventually employ 1,200 workers."

http://www.cio.com/blog_view.html?CID=24231

 

[ScioAgapeOmnis]

So basically what I see, is that Intel "messed up", AMD got better - and Intel is paying for it (and is now trying to recover). But the overall picture does suggest that less and less people are going to be able to afford to upgrade their PC's soon, so even though AMD may take the top spot, it won't be as lucrative as intel had it in the 90's. I suppose though, its kind of like two bulls fighting on marshland, they're both sinking so it doesn't matter who "wins".

Intel just came out with Core 2 Duo processors which are faster than anything AMD has to offer (until perhaps they release whatever they have up their sleeves), but yeah AMD for the past 2 years or so has been way ahead of intel in desktop segment. Although when I say "way ahead", it can only be detected by power-users and avid gamers etc, not by your average computer user, osit.

And that, I think, is the problem - there really is little reason to upgrade these days. The idea of computers is relatively new, and the late 90's and early 2000's saw the biggest leaps in processor speeds in the shortest amount of time, ever. In 1997 we see the 166/233mhz Pentium 1, in 2002 we had 3Ghz Pentium 4 chips - 20-30 times more speed for the processor alone, not to mention the advances in all other parts that comprise a PC which made the difference even greater. The software changed dramatically in this timeframe, the internet was only just getting started and it was this "new awesome thing" that everyone was so excited about. Until 1995 (and Windows 95) PC and internet use had a much narrower market, so it didn't really grow wings until after 95, osit.

Now, however, the initial excitement and "oohs and aahs" are dying down. Computers and the Intenet itself are becoming second nature, no longer as amazing and new. The processor market has hit a wall with speed for the past 3-4 years and although speed continues to go up, it is relatively tiny increments when compared to the huge strides of the late 90's. It was much easier and faster to go from 100 mhz to 200 or even 500 mhz than it was to go from 1000mhz to 2000mhz. Right now, since late 2002, the Mhz has NOT CHANGED - we're stuck at 3Ghz (3000mhz) for the past 4 years. So in 4 years we went from 3Ghz to 3.7Ghz or so, and that's it. The so-called "solution" that was provided in past few years is to go dual-core, although it is essentially using 2 cpu's instead of 1, inside one chip. So they can't make'em faster, but they glue 2 of them together and call it a day.

As a result of these pseudo-solutions and the huge slowdown of overall computer speed in past few years, software has not really changed in that timeframe either, things are suddenly no longer moving at nearly the same pace like in late 90's. So while there was great reason to upgrade between years '97 and 2000 for example, when suddenly your computer was literally obselete and couldn't run any recent applications or games, nowadays you can use a 3 yr old computer and it runs all today's applications pretty much perfectly.

So it is getting very difficult nowadays to justify upgrading, difficult to convince people to upgrade, because they say "why? What can this computer do that the one I bought 2 yrs ago can't?" and the true answer is, nothing. Maybe it will be 30-40% percent faster doing the same things, but again, compare that to late 90's where 2 years later a new computer will do the same thing 300-400% percent faster than the one that came 2 years before it, and so it was perfectly normal for software companies to write new software designed for the new much-faster computer, software that simply won't run or barely crawl on the computer 2 years before it. Not so anymore, not even close.

So when you combine the relatively small speed increases, the waning excitement/amazement, and the crippled economy, it's no surprise that people just don't have any reason to upgrade anymore (unless their system is over 4-5 years old). I'm actually surprised that the computer industry is still doing as well as it is. But there are cracks forming and there are signs a-plenty that all is not "well", this being just one of them. I think the reason that it's not so hard-hitting yet is the marketing, the illusion pulled over people's eyes that nothing has changed, everything is just as it was.

I suspect that they could easily just give us quantum computers or something similar if they wanted to, but the incremental speed increases in technology is a very much controlled and intentional thing, not only to squeeze as much profit as possible from each incremental product release before releasing a better one, but also to create "technology addicts". Kinda like soap operas - it's just a big distraction, the "story" continues to go on and teases you and then eventually gives you a piece of meat and then continue to tease for a while until you're just about to get sick of it, then quickly gives you another piece of meat to grab your interest again, and so on. Then they engineer anticipation about the next piece of meat they'll throw at the population. As a result of this bread and circus, people are too busy being distracted with all these "gadgets" and slowly progressing technological thingies to worry about any important issues. And that's the point. It's not necessarily the point of the greedy CEO's and their corporations who just do this for profit purposes, but it's the point of the PTB who really manage all such corporations and their CEO's and so on. Just like many higher-ups in the mainstream news agencies only care about "ratings", while THEIR handlers are directing the content. So the so-called "higher-ups" are given a low-level goal to seek - ratings/money, and that becomes their purpose at that level, and the PTB ensure that the WAY these people will get the ratings/money is by following a specific set of instructions that serve an entirely different purpose of the PTB.

It's all just a game, and I pity the millions who take it seriously and are sucked into the game. I think AMD vs Intel isn't any different than Democrat vs Republican. Engineered competition for public consumption - keep them entertained like during a wrestling match (fake wrestling). I think on SOME level there definitely is competition, the illusion isn't just for the masses but also for the low-level company employees and even higher-ups sometimes. Just like some naive/blind politicians may buy into the lie that there are any real political parties/sides, osit.

 

[Rich]

Excellent summary.

It's all just a game, and I pity the millions who take it seriously and are sucked into the game. I think AMD vs Intel isn't any different than Democrat vs Republican. Engineered competition for public consumption

'The game' occurs in nearly all products from fashion to food to toothbrushes. just when the population starts to cotton on that the humble toothbrush cannot be any more 'perfect' at processing plaque, we [consumers] become convinced we need electric ones. Or (my personal favourite) is watching how many blades can be added to a razor to ensure 'an even closer shave' by dubiously similar brands. This is a good analogy to the relative improvement in processor performance you discuss. Although I degress a little i find the following a perfect example of riduculous extension of product life from the Gillette shaving 'revolution

According to company spokesperson Herbie Lyson, S-Aim paves the way for Gillette to launch a whole range of products to complement its new five-bladed shavers. "We anticipate a product portfolio consisting of the S-Aim shaver, replacement blades, shaving foam, moisturising gel and special water that will aid lubrication of the face. The development of the water product is with our partner [Dasani] and we're expecting something from them very soon."
Response from Gillette's main market rivals, Wilkinson-Sword, were mildly accusatory but finished upbeat.

: http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s8i3040

Fortunately for multinational businesses, developing countries are only too keen for the game to continue where products are at decline stage in the west (from product life cycle: http://www.tutor2u.net/business/marketing/products_lifecycle.asp). For example yesterday in Ho chi minh city I bought a can of sprite that had a ringpull from the 70s! Old production equipment that is obsolete in the west is obviously given new leases of life in countries that do not have similar levels of education and consumer protection.

PC, or ringpull it is all the same, just as distracting and keeps the world's population busy doing nothing.

 

[tractmec]

It's all just a game, and I pity the millions who take it seriously and are sucked into the game. I think AMD vs Intel isn't any different than Democrat vs Republican. Engineered competition for public consumption - keep them entertained like during a wrestling match (fake wrestling). I think on SOME level there definitely is competition, the illusion isn't just for the masses but also for the low-level company employees and even higher-ups sometimes. Just like some naive/blind politicians may buy into the lie that there are any real political parties/sides, osit.

My family discovered a similar game being played in the oil industry when my Uncle drove the fuel delivery truck for a local bulk station which was franchised to a major oil company and later for a smaller Cooperative.

Occasionally the station would run low on a particular fuel and my Uncle would drive the delivery truck up to a refinery 20 miles north operated at that time by the aformetioned major and load enough to carry the station until their regular delivery.

He told us stories about how the fuel he was loading either gasoline or diesel would come out of the pump clear and would not be colored until a refinery official would empty a tiny envelope of dye into the tank as per the particular fuel order that my Uncle had submitted. Only then would the fuel take on the price and taxes that it would be sold for.

What was even more interesting was the number of large tankers that were carrying logos of competiter oil companies that were loading fuel at those same docks. My uncle even talked to some drivers of independant fuel tankers who said that they had orders for delivery to any gas station in Alberta. Company logo did not seem to matter. He would later make this same fill in run for the Cooperative although by this time the dyeing procedure would be automated at the pump.

I my profession of Agricultural equipment repair our dealership service department would occasionally repair a piece of construction equipment that was building a refinery or a gas plant. We would ask the forman if he prefered a particular oil and the answer we would get more often than not would be " we don't care, oil is oil, it all comes out of the same vat anyway!"

In the eightys some people I knew in the Ag machinery industry would wait for a green light at an intersection in Regina Saskatchewan while on their to work which was next to a lubricant refinery. This refinery carried the logo of and supplied the above mentioned Cooperative. They would notice trucks going in and coming out and many of them would have major oil company logos.

Perhaps lends creedence to the forman's quote above?

I have never watched or looked at an oil company ad with out chuckling to myself since.

The game it would seem continues.

 

[John Chang]

Word on the street is Intel for a while hasn't been a good place to work at. Basically, all the good engineers left Intel to go to AMD, and it shows.

The Core processors were actually developed in Israel. Some satellite office group that was left to innovate via benign neglect. And the processor was originally supposed to be a laptop processor at that. I suspect now that they've done their good deeds and have been noticed by management, they will be suitably monitored and punished for it.

All companies go through a life cycle, and Intel is approaching the "old age" part. Bascially, they're all sales/marketing/legal now, and are living off of past achievements. That, and the PC market has become a replacement market and not a growth market. Used to, they could sell all the chips they could make and then some, but now everyone who has a PC, basically already has one, and they only buy a new one when the old one breaks.

The only people who upgrade at any kind of pace the computer industry is used to, is the gaming community. But that crowd isn't very big, and they care about real performance in their games. Which means that they never were fooled by the Mhz marketing, and bought AMD chips instead.

 

[Rich]

Intel Relevant Products/Services Corp., the world's largest chipmaker, has received permission to increase its initial investment in Vietnam from US$300 million (EU236 million) to up to US$1 billion (EU790 million), a Vietnamese official said Tuesday.

[...]Tuesday's development comes on the same day that the World Trade Organization was scheduled to approve Vietnam's entry into the Geneva-based body and just days before it hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which will draw heads of state and business executives from around the globe.

http://business(dot)newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=020001UHZ0AC

Business may be faulting in US but is booming in Vietnam. George Bush is among the visitors next week on 17th-20th November so this will be a global media event. when reported on 19th October "Iraq like Vietnam? Bush says that 'could be right' APEC may well have been in mind as a platform to present a positive spin on current events.

 

[1/2Hawk]

Dell had been using some AMD chips in their server products for a little while. Then they came in laptops and now you can get them in your everyday home PC too. You may have see the big promotion about Dell hiring some 500 engineers in Austin recently - this was in part to pick up slack from engineering work Intel was doing for them.

 

[Ryan]

Or (my personal favourite) is watching how many blades can be added to a razor to ensure 'an even closer shave' by dubiously similar brands. [...]

PC, or ringpull it is all the same, just as distracting and keeps the world's population busy doing nothing.

LOL. Yeah, I really rolled my eyes when I saw an ad for some new multi-bladed shaver that requires a AA battery. And they call these shavers "disposables"!

I wonder if they're trying to work out how to keep up the illusion of "progress" without actually letting any of the seriously interesting stuff out of the bag... "feline nation", anyone? ;)

 

[lilies]

New big problems at Intel: rusty CPUs are coming out of factories?! Causing overheating issues, instabilities.

Getting slower:
Dialing back speed multipliers on CPUs and on fast memory boards apparently solved the issue. As a result the affected and originally advertised as FAST processors and DDR5 memories now both are SLOWER, not meeting their advertised specifications...

10% to 25% of new 13th and 14th generation intel processors are affected. Large customers are dumping CPU stocks:

Primary source:

We don't know what the cause of failure is yet. We've received a lot of leaks and credible tips and, working alongside Wendell of Level1 Techs, we have been trying to get to the bottom of Intel's CPU failures. The current trouble is how reviewers should even test these parts for the upcoming AMD Zen 5 reviews though, as any changes from Intel will need to be reflected in that comparative data. Likewise, until Intel puts out a better statement, we simply do not feel comfortable recommending 13th and 14th Gen CPUs while this matter is pending. This video talks about tips we've received relating to oxidation or potential corrosion within the silicon, specifically relating to the vias, and other tips like excessive voltage, memory speeds, unstable frequency, and failure rates. This is not a complete investigation. We are still working and do not yet have a conclusion, nor do we have full confidence in any one failure mode.If you own an Intel CPU, fill in our survey here (especially if it is unstable): https://geni.us/INTELFAILWatch our previous video with Wendell of Level1 Techs: • Intel's CPUs Are Failing, ft. Wendell... And watch Wendell's video here: • Intel has a Pretty Big Problem

Because of the suspicious vagueness about this issue as well - experts trying to find out WTH is going on - I was conspiracy-theorizing about:
How ongoing changes toward a bi-density - 3rdD + 4thD Earth - environment might cause such previously stable but now changing very basic properties of matter: metal magnetic ionization / atomic structure anomalies - causing overheating issues in new processors as well.

Thinning of the Realm Border in larger areas in countries where some of these factories are located and this might be, why at some processor manufacturing plants they have contamination now with the previously rock-stable manufacturing process.

Or can it be that vaccination long term damage effects on the human brain are finally taking their toll?

 

[lilies]

'Those key factory engineers responsible for previously stable and rock-solid manufacturing operations are now making Thinking Errors in their brains. Their neurons misfiring?

 

[lilies]

Progressive rusting of Intel processors after an already very error-sensitive manufacturing process - 13xx, 14xx series released in 2023 and after are affected -, so its a big problem:

If you disable Turbo Boost, you can get "stability" until the corrosion / contamination make the CPU fault. We have reports of some CPUs that will not even boot without blue screening, because the contamination / corrosion is so bad. (Large Intel customer)

(WEF-directed sabotage activity before they unleash their precious Disease-X?)

They are already using a dodgy and sensitive manufacturing process called ALD. It appears to be partly a big management decision as other manufacturing processes are available. Was dodgy ALD selected, because of the lesser costs?
Suspicious, like the massive Boeing fiasco. Here.