Workers move a crane in 2023 on one of Intel’s new facilities in south Chandler. Intel Corp. reported second-quarter 2025 financial results that were accompanied by a letter to employees from CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who was named to the role in March, with a few words directed at Chandler operations and about-to-be-former and recently laid-off employees.
The CEO of Chandler’s largest employer made some recent statements that could further impact life in the city — or at least how many people work at one location.
Intel Corp. reported second-quarter 2025 financial results that were accompanied by a letter to employees from CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who was named to the role in March. He said second-quarter numbers show “a first step in the right direction.”
“Our operational results give me confidence we have what it takes to win. We will meet this moment — by building a new Intel for a new era.”
Intel filed a notice with the Arizona Department of Economic Security on July 7, announcing as many as 172 of its west Chandler employees could be let go soon, then revised that total to 696 a few days later.
In his quarter-recap address, dated July 24, Tan said the semiconductor maker has completed “a significant amount of our workforce reductions” in the second quarter, which he said helped streamline the number of management layers by about 50% in the process.
He didn’t mention site-specific reductions or layoffs in his letter.
Tan said Intel is implementing a plan to reduce its headcount by about 15%, and plans to end the year with a global workforce of about 75,000 employees through workforce reductions and attrition.
Intel not only has an infrastructure agreement with the city of Chandler, mainly for its Ocotillo campus on the south side, it’s investing billions of dollars in expanding and building two new fabrication facilities. No word has been made lately about when those two fabs will be online and officially open; Chandler economic development director Micah Miranda said he hasn’t heard or seen any variation from a planned fourth-quarter opening of those two fabs.
Tan stated the tech giant is on track to implement its return-to-the-office policy in September.
“Sites are completing necessary improvements to operate at full capacity,” Tan wrote. “There are no more blank checks. Every investment must make economic sense.”
Tan stated the company might have grown too fast in the years leading up to his term as CEO, though he was on the board of directors from 2022 until August of last year.
Tan did mention the Intel fabs in the context of ramping up production, though it isn’t clear what that means in terms of workforce numbers.
“Job No. 1 is ramping Intel 18A (Ocotillo) at scale,” Tan wrote. “Intel 18A and Intel 18A-P are critical nodes for Intel products and will drive meaningful wafer volumes well into the next decade.”
He wrote the company has decided to halt previously planned projects in Germany and Poland. Intel will consolidate its assembly and test operations in Costa Rica to its larger sites in Vietnam and Malaysia and is slowing construction in Ohio “to ensure our spending is aligned with demand.”
“We will follow a systematic approach to growing our factory footprint that’s fully aligned with the needs of our customers,” Tan wrote. “We will be judicious and disciplined as we allocate capital ... We will take a fundamentally different approach to building our foundry business. Over the past several years, the company invested too much, too soon – without adequate demand. In the process, our factory footprint became needlessly fragmented and underutilized. We must correct our course.”
Tan also had a message that seemed directed at Chandler and other residents who have or are about to lose their jobs with Intel.
“These actions are critical to strengthening our competitive position going forward, but it means we are saying goodbye to valued colleagues,” Tan wrote. “To everyone who will be leaving Intel: Thank you, sincerely, for your contributions.”
Jason W. Brooks News Editor | Chandler Independent
Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.
Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.
Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.
Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.
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