Intel Israel is undergoing significant layoffs affecting several hundred employees across its operations, particularly at the Kiryat Gat plant. Though the exact numbers aren’t official, estimates suggest up to 200 layoffs just at Kiryat Gat.
The layoffs focus mainly on two groups:
Middle management: Intel is flattening its organizational structure to speed decision-making and improve contact between managers and employees. This mainly affects middle and junior managers—group leaders and first-line managers supervising production shifts—rather than production workers or engineers.
ROC technicians: The Remote Operations Center staff monitor and manage production remotely, running complex chip fabrication processes 24/7. Automation systems, gradually introduced through 2025, are set to replace many manual tasks in the ROC, reducing the need for these roles.
This restructuring in Israel mirrors cuts Intel is making globally—54 layoffs in Folsom, 217 in Santa Clara, 194 in Ireland, among others.
Despite the layoffs, Intel still considers its Kiryat Gat fab strategically crucial. The latest annual report highlights Kiryat Gat as a key manufacturing site using Intel 7 technology, contributing significantly to revenue. Israel’s physical assets for Intel rose to $10.4 billion in 2024, ranking it third worldwide after the US and Ireland, underscoring its importance.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan values Israel’s workforce highly; the layoffs are part of global streamlining efforts, not specific to Israel. Intel’s development centers, especially in Haifa (focused on processor design), remain vital to the company.
Intel emphasized the restructuring aims to make the company leaner and more efficient while treating affected employees with care and respect.
Related News