Employers
Intel Corp. had about 81,100 employees at the end of its third quarter, roughly 7,300 fewer than a year earlier, even as the chipmaker reported a 21% jump in revenue, according to the third-quarter results it released on Thursday, Oct. 29, and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The headcount table in the release shows 81,100 employees as of Sept. 26, 2026, down from 82,300 at the end of June and 88,400 on Sept. 27, 2025. That is a decline of about 8.3% over the year and about 1,200 people over the latest quarter. Intel reports the figure in thousands and splits it in two: Intel itself had 76,500 employees, down from 83,300 a year earlier, while Mobileye and other subsidiaries had 4,600, down from 5,100.
Smaller workforce, bigger sales
The shrinking payroll came alongside a sharp recovery in sales. Revenue was $16.5 billion in the quarter, up from $13.7 billion a year earlier. The Data Center and AI unit’s revenue rose 78% to $7.3 billion, and Intel Foundry’s rose 58% to $6.7 billion, while the Client Computing and Physical AI Group, which sells PC processors, slipped 5% to $8.1 billion.
GAAP research and development plus marketing, general and administrative expenses were $4.5 billion, up 4% from a year earlier. Restructuring and other charges in the quarter were $54 million, compared with $175 million in the third quarter of 2025. Intel says its restructuring charges are primarily employee severance and benefit costs, and that the third-quarter charges in both years mainly relate to its 2025 Restructuring Plan. The release does not announce a new layoff program or say how the 7,300-person reduction breaks down between layoffs, attrition and divestitures.
Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan said the results showed “improving execution” and that the company’s “immediate priority is to unlock additional supply to meet extraordinary demand” for its Xeon server processors. Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner said Intel sees “the PC slowdown continuing at least through the first half of next year.” Intel forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $15.0 billion to $16.0 billion.
The release also lists steps that point to where Intel is investing: a completed $23 billion public equity offering, a planned acquisition of quantum-software company Classiq, and collaborations with Lam Research and Applied Materials on new facilities to expand capacity and enable joint process-technology research.
What California's WARN list shows
California’s Employment Development Department WARN report, which covers notices processed from July 1 through Oct. 28, 2026, includes three rounds of Intel permanent layoffs in the state. A July 24 notice listed 103 workers at four Santa Clara buildings, including 24 at the Robert Noyce Building headquarters at 2200 Mission College Blvd., effective Aug. 15. A Sept. 18 notice listed 52 more workers at the same Santa Clara sites, effective Sept. 30. A notice dated Oct. 22 listed 67 workers at Intel’s site at 1900 Prairie City Road in Folsom, effective Oct. 31. Together the three rounds cover 222 California workers, a small share of the companywide decline.
What it means for workers
For engineers and technicians who follow Intel, the numbers send a mixed signal. The company’s own figures show it running with substantially fewer people than a year ago, and its CFO expects weakness in the PC business, the unit with the largest revenue, to last into 2027. At the same time, the fastest growth is in data-center chips and foundry manufacturing, the areas tied to the capacity expansion and supply push that Tan described.
The headcount figures are rounded to the nearest hundred and include Mobileye and other subsidiaries, which the release reports as a separate line. Intel did not give a target for year-end headcount in the release.
Sources
- Intel Corporation, “Intel Reports Third-Quarter 2026 Financial Results,” Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K, October 29, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/50863/000005086326000188/q326earningsrelease.htm
- California Employment Development Department, “WARN Report – 07/01/26 to 10/28/2026,” accessed November 2, 2026. https://edd.ca.gov/siteassets/files/jobs_and_training/warn/warn_report1.xlsx
Featured photo: Intel headquarters at 2200 Mission College Boulevard in Santa Clara, California, photographed July 23, 2023. Photo: Coolcaesar, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Cropped from the original.
