Intel has decided to cut 12,000 jobs, or 11% of its workforce, and continue a major overhaul of its executives by reassigning CFO Stacy Smith as it seeks to accelerate its shift toward non-PC growth engines.
The world’s largest chip maker announced the “restructuring initiative” Tuesday as it reported first-quarter earnings of 54 cents a share, beating estimates of 49 cents. Revenue was $13.8 billion, slightly below estimates of $13.84 billion for the quarter ended March 31.
The data center and Internet of Things businesses that are now Intel’s primary growth engines both delivered strong results, showing 9% and 22% year-over-year growth, respectively.
“Our results demonstrate a strategy that’s working and a solid foundation for growth,” CEO Brian Krzanich said in a memo to employees. “Our opportunity now is to accelerate our momentum and build on our strengths. But this requires some difficult decisions.”
The reorganization, one of the largest in Intel’s history, starts immediately, with most of those losing their jobs to be notified within the next 60 days. The cuts are expected to save the company $750 million in 2016 and create savings at an annual rate of $1.4 billion by the middle of next year.
“This is really about how to get more money to invest in the Internet of Things, data center, and memory,” Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, told Forbes, suggesting the cuts will take place mostly in the generic PC business.
Intel’s first-quarter sales volumes in desktops were down 4% and laptop sales fell 2%.
On the executive front, Intel said Smith will take on a new role “leading sales, manufacturing, and operations” once his current position has been filled, but the company didn’t say what his new job title will be or whether he was going up or down the corporate ladder.
“We are excited to have Stacy take on this new role, leveraging the deep expertise and strong leadership skills that he has developed over his 28-year career at Intel,” Krzanich said.
In after-market trading Tuesday, Intel shares dropped as much as 3.3% to $30.56.