Following layoffs in 2024, Intel looks to cut 15% to 20% of its factory workers in July. (Kaelyn Cassidy/Hillsboro News-Times)

Rumor has it that Oregon’s largest chipmaker plans to trim a chunk of its global factory workforce next month — though whether those cuts will fall in Washington County isn’t crystal clear.

Intel formally notified employees of plans to reduce between 15% and 20% of workers in its factory division starting in July, The Oregonian reported.

“These are difficult actions but essential to meet our affordability challenges and current financial position of the company,” Intel’s Manufacturing Vice President Naga Chandrasekaran wrote to employees Saturday, June 14. “It drives pain to every individual.”

The company did not respond to a request for comment on whether any of Intel’s four campuses in Washington County will be impacted. And while the news has prompted concern about potential local job losses, no WARN notice — a federally required 60-day alert for mass layoffs — has been filed as of June 18.

Still, with Oregon’s economy inextricably linked to Intel, the state’s largest corporate employer, the potential for further cuts raises broader questions.

A recent history of losses

Intel has been bracing for another round of layoffs since April, when company leaders outlined a difficult road ahead amid slumping sales. While the number of positions wasn’t specified, executives announced plans to slash $500 million in operating expenses in 2025 and another $1 billion in 2026, alongside a $2 billion reduction in capital expenditures.

The looming reductions follow sweeping cuts over the past few years. In August 2024, Intel said it would eliminate 15,000 positions globally — including 1,300 in Oregon — as part of an effort to trim $10 billion from its annual budget. That brought the total job losses for 2024 to roughly 3,000. In 2022, the company cut 12,000 workers.

The restructuring aligns with the strategy of recently appointed Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan, who has said he aims to reduce “organizational complexity” by thinning layers of management. The top brass is also requiring employees to return to the office four days a week beginning Sept. 1.

And the consolidation hasn’t only involved people: In November, Intel announced plans to sell its 150-acre campus in Folsom, California, as part of a broader effort to shrink its real estate footprint. That move sparked speculation that Hillsboro’s Hawthorn Farm campus could be next — but the company has since said it will retain the 50-acre site.

Local tremors

Semiconductors have long been central to Hillsboro’s economy, with Intel’s Ronler Acres campus serving as the crown jewel of Oregon’s “Silicon Forest.” The city has previously reported that 78% of the state’s semiconductor workforce is employed in Hillsboro, and 89% of its manufacturing jobs are tied to high-tech industries.

But the region’s reliance on the industry has grown more precarious as Intel — and other players like Lattice Semiconductor — continue to downsize.

Hillsboro’s hopes for a “generational opportunity” to cement its place as a global semiconductor hub took a major hit late last year, when Gov. Tina Kotek declined to use her executive authority to bring 373 acres of rural reserves into the city’s urban growth boundary — potentially costing the region its shot at hosting the National Semiconductor Technology Center and securing up to $1 billion in federal CHIPS Act funding.

Whether Tan’s plan to streamline operations and recruit top talent can steer Intel back on course remains to be seen. For now, the region’s economic future — and thousands of jobs — hang in the balance.