Portland — Intel’s manufacturing group is trimming its workforce through voluntary buyouts.
The cuts appear modest, and Intel describes them as routine, but those leaving the company include some top executives. The reductions accompany an ongoing technological and business transformation at the chipmaker.
Intel has too much production capacity, with sales stalled due to a broad slowdown in the PC market. And the company is fighting to overcome the laws of physics as it shrinks circuit sizes and approaches a looming transition in its production technology.
Perhaps a dozen Oregon employees have taken the buyouts. The size of Intel’s global workforce (106,000) and its Oregon headcount (17,500) don’t appear to be changing.