Intel’s CEO Pat Gelsinger has announced his retirement from the company effective December 1.

According to a statement from the chip maker, Gelsinger has also stepped down from the company’s board of directors.

Intel has named CFO David Zinsner and Intel Products CEO Michelle (MJ) Johnston Holthaus, as interim co-CEOs until Gelsinger’s replacement is appointed.

Gelsinger first joined Intel in 1979 aged 18 and held various technical engineering and leadership roles at the company before being appointed CTO in 2001. In 2009 he left Intel for the role of chief commercial officer at EMC, a position he held until 2012 when he was appointed CEO of VMware. He rejoined Intel as CEO in February 2021.

However, despite ambitious plans to expand its global chip fabrication footprint and carve out its Product and Foundry lines into two separate businesses, recent quarters have seen Intel struggle financially, posting billions of dollars in losses in 2024 alone, resulting in the company cutting around 15,000 jobs since August.

Most recently, the Biden administration awarded Intel a reduced funding package of $7.86 billion under the CHIPS and Science Act, conditional on the company’s completion of project milestones and Intel’s retention of majority ownership in its foundry business, should it be spun out into a separate private entity.

In a statement, Gelsinger said: “Leading Intel has been the honor of my lifetime – this group of people is among the best and the brightest in the business, and I’m honored to call each and every one a colleague."

He added: "Today is, of course, bittersweet as this company has been my life for the bulk of my working career. I can look back with pride at all that we have accomplished together. It has been a challenging year for all of us as we have made tough but necessary decisions to position Intel for the current market dynamics. I am forever grateful for the many colleagues around the world who I have worked with as part of the Intel family.”