US senator ‘demands answers’ from Intel CEO on 15,000 job cuts: “What is Intel trying to achieve with…”

A US senator has reportedly demanded answers from Intel‘s CEO Pat Gelsinger about the company’s plan to lay off over 15,000 employees, despite receiving nearly $20 billion in government subsidies for chip production. The senator is seeking clarity on the number of US jobs impacted and whether the cuts will affect Intel’s planned investments.
“What is Intel trying to achieve with these job cuts, and why have billions of U.S.taxpayer dollars in investments not been sufficient support to avert the need for lay-offs?” Republican Senator Rick Scott asked in a letter to Gelsinger, as per news agency Reuters.
Scott questioned if the Commerce Department’s planned awards had failed “to include real metrics that would protect taxpayer dollars from going to companies that could not meet high standards for US manufacturing and job creation.”

Intel awarded up to $8.5 billion in CHIPS Act grants

In March this year, the White House said Intel has been awarded up to $8.5 billion in CHIPS Act funding as a part of efforts to ramp up semiconductor manufacturing in the US. Intel can also receive an additional $11 billion in loans as well as access to a 25% investment tax credit. The chips award, however, has not been finalised.
The US Commerce Department reportedly said in May the funding will support the creation of more than 10,000 manufacturing jobs and nearly 20,000 construction jobs for projects in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio and Oregon.
Intel said this month it will cut costs by $10 billion in 2025 and as a part of this, it will reduce its workforce by more than 15%.
Intel will reduce its R&D and marketing spend by billions each year through 2026 and it will restructure to “stop non-essential work”.