Intel is trimming headcount again, this time inside the Data Center and AI Group, in a round that landed just before the company’s July 23 second-quarter earnings report. What makes the timing notable is that this isn’t a struggling division being cut for cause: DCG posted $5.05 billion in revenue during the first quarter of 2026, up 22% year-over-year, and analysts widely view it as one of Intel’s strongest-performing units, positioned to benefit as demand for CPUs alongside GPUs grows in AI data centers. Tom’s Hardware called the decision “quite surprising” given the segment’s momentum. Intel has not disclosed the exact number of roles eliminated in this specific round.
The cuts are the latest step in CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s turnaround plan since he took over from Pat Gelsinger in March 2025. Tan has pursued an aggressive, multi-year downsizing: Intel’s total headcount has fallen from roughly 132,000 employees in 2022 to about 81,000 today, and the company previously announced a target of cutting its core workforce by approximately 15%, a plan that had already resulted in more than 5,000 U.S. layoffs concentrated in California, Oregon, Arizona, and Texas through 2025. Earlier restructuring rounds hit Intel’s automotive architecture unit, its foundry division (15–20% of that workforce), and hundreds of roles at its large Oregon campuses, which together employ around 20,000 people.
Despite the cuts, Wall Street has responded favorably to the broader turnaround story: Intel shares have climbed more than 300% over the trailing year as investors credit Tan’s discipline. The company was expected to report adjusted earnings of 22 cents per share on roughly $14.45 billion in revenue for Q2, compared with a loss the year prior. Sector-wide, tracking site Layoffs.fyi recorded 121,326 tech job cuts industry-wide through the first seven months of 2026 alone, already nearing the 122,606 cuts recorded across all of 2025.
A person familiar with the matter told Business Insider that the DCG restructuring is not expected to affect the division’s existing product roadmap or customer commitments, and is intended purely to streamline internal operations rather than slow delivery.