Intel is offering voluntary redundancy packages to employees at its manufacturing sites in Leixlip, Ireland.
According to Irish news outlet the Business Post, staff with more than two years of service are being offered a package worth five weeks’ pay per year of service, in addition to the country’s statutory redundancy rate of two weeks’ pay per year of service, capped at €600 ($655) per week.
The package has an overall cap of 104 weeks’ pay, or €500,000 ($546,203), and staff members reportedly have until August 23 to apply for voluntary redundancy. Employees who apply for the scheme will be notified on September 6 if their request has been approved, with accepted employees due to leave Intel on September 30.
The news comes a week after Intel announced it would be cutting its workforce by around 15 percent in response to the company posting a net loss of $1.6 billion for Q2 2024.
The company currently employs just under 5,000 people in Ireland, meaning that around 730 job losses would be seen across Intel’s Irish operations if the 15 percent quota were to apply. The Business Post reported that if the necessary job cuts aren’t made voluntarily, compulsory redundancies will be enacted.
Intel declined to comment on the specific details of the report, telling the news outlet it was “not disclosing a number right now in relation to impact in Ireland.”
This is not the first time Intel’s Irish workforce has been caught up in the company’s cost-cutting efforts. After Intel announced sweeping job cuts in October 2022, almost half of the workforce in Leixlip was encouraged to take three months unpaid leave in order to help the company reduce short-term costs and avoid layoffs.
In May 2024, it was reported that Intel was in advanced talks with asset management firm Apollo Global Management to help finance the construction of a chip fab in Ireland. It’s unclear what impact the job cuts will have on this project.