backtop

Print E-mail del.icio.us 80 comment(s) - last by kalak.. on May 7 at 5:19 PM
Employees working on 200mm technology gets moved aside for 300mm engineers

Job cuts in the IT industry have been a familiar situation for individuals and companies for the last several years after the burst of the bubble. While the situation is a lot better today than it was several years ago, large job cuts are still common. This week, Intel announced that roughly 1000 jobs will be cut in New Mexico at its Rio Rancho plant which is known as Fab 11X. Intel's 300mm plant currently holds roughly 5000 employees and a 20 percent job cut anywhere is hefty.

Intel indicated that Fab 11X also produces 200mm silicon wafers, which is now an obsolete technology. Because of this, those involved in that technology will be let go. Intel's push to expand its 300mm technology is in full force. The company recently announced that it will expand its 300mm production facilities in China with a focus on a move to 45nm fabrication.

Intel indicated that it will be offering employees severance packages and the option to reapply for a job within the company. "Both options give you a great package, a competitive package," said Intel spokesman Jami Grindatto. "It's based on years of service"

Some employees that are part of the cut have been working at Intel for more than 25 years.

Late last year, Intel announced a major plan to restructure the company as a whole. As a result, roughly 10,000 employees ended up on the chopping block. Several days after the announcement, Intel increased the figure to 10,500 employees, making for a 10% cut of its entire global workforce.

Comments     Threshold


This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
Now I've seen it all!
By Crank the Planet on 5/3/2007 1:33:57 PM , Rating: 5
On the wake of dealing massive price cuts to hurt AMD, Intel is slashing it's own wrists in an attempt to stiffle the competition. The price cuts Intel has made, along with wanting to get to 45nm before AMD can release significant numbers of Barcelona has resulted in strategic losses to the company. You don't sacrifice people that have worked for you for 25 years, you just don't. You will never gain that experience back. I am not bagging on Intel as I have in the past. I am making a sad comment in that I am sad. I'm sad to see Intel, the number one chipmaker in the world, have to resort to the drastic measures they've taken recently. They may have started this price war and they will probably win it, but at what cost? It would be a Pyrrhic victory for Intel. No one would have dreamed it would come to this.




RE: Now I've seen it all!
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 5/3/2007 1:44:32 PM , Rating: 4
Or you could get a reality check. You can't teach old dogs new tricks. These guys are dead wood. 200mm wafer technology is done with, 300mm is the standard now. This lets intel cut all the losers, old timers, dead wood, etc.... and those that have useful skills still applicable can apply to job postings elsewhere at Intel and likely get it. This just prevents anyone from "suing" for descrimination, and trying to get them to "re-use" already internal staff. Job cuts are usually good, lets companies dump dead wood that would otherwise try to sue, this way there is no grounds, nobody was singled out, everyone was cut, but some were "hired" elsewhere in the company, but it gets out of the legal bottleneck.

quote:
You don't sacrifice people that have worked for you for 25 years, you just don't.

Yes you do, I have plenty of people here 20+ years I would love to see fired, they are outdated, they suck, and are in the way of the modern era. Intel knows this and is taking the appropriate action.


RE: Now I've seen it all!
By Crank the Planet on 5/3/07, Rating: 0
RE: Now I've seen it all!
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 5/3/07, Rating: 0
RE: Now I've seen it all!
By Crank the Planet on 5/3/2007 2:51:47 PM , Rating: 3
I quite agree as Intel has come out with a sure fire winner with Core. At the same time you have to acknowledge that AMD will gain it back with Barcelona. I've read it offers a 33% increase over Core. Who isn't going to switch? And on every platform- desktop and server and supercomputer, esp. with HT3. Intel needs to come out with some new tech because they sure ain't going to grab market share back this time with a speed bump or gimmmicks like "Netburst."

Intel has had to cut jobs to cope with revenue lost due to AMD's market share gain. Intel is doing the same and AMD will have to restructure. But the one thing AMD has is products coming out now and with new tech, and with newer tech in development/finalisation. What is Intel coming out with? 45nm on CMOS? Come on. They need to come out with something bigger and better than that. Layered chip design, high-k gate, something. I expect it too- especially since they have such deep pockets (well, I guess they're not as deep as they used to be-lol). Believe me I want Intel to come out with something, because that will benefit everyone. It definitely seems to me that Intel should be driving innovation- not AMD. Intel seems to be content just to beat AMD nowadays. As I said I want and expect more from Intel than that.


RE: Now I've seen it all!
By blin22 on 5/3/2007 3:21:46 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
They need to come out with something bigger and better than that. Layered chip design, high-k gate, something.


A high-k dielectric is part of the new 45nm process, along woth a switch back to metal gates from poly.


RE: Now I've seen it all!
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 5/3/07, Rating: 0
RE: Now I've seen it all!
By TSS on 5/4/2007 3:23:58 AM , Rating: 1
you are forgetting something, and that is that AMD is running a marathon right now. they know they dont have the money to keep up with intel on the shrinking of the proces. but every time they go smaller, it costs more and more money to develop and transfer too. eventually after intel has spent alot of money, they will run into the limits of nature. which, at the current rate, is going to be quite fast. at that point AMD will have more then enough time to catch up. besides, IF what AMD said about the performance is true, then indeed they will have a 30% advantage over conroe and be on par with penryn. but, they will be 30% above penryn again once they go 45nm. at which point intel will introduce nehalem, which will probably be about.... 30% better then penryn?

at the moment, AMD can still use 1 more 30% performance advantage from a shrink, since there 1 behind on intel. and they're probably saving it for the right time.


RE: Now I've seen it all!
By blwest on 5/3/2007 4:44:31 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
Well you can believe what you want, but most people can't or won't change. Intel just retook most of the markeshare AMD had generated in the last 1-2 years. This is a natural evolution of the company, time to cut less or non-profitable workers and positions, even product lines. This has very little to do with AMD, this has everything to do with positioning to dominate. If anything this is a restructuring effort to make sure they have a firmly solidified grip on the market and keep AMD with their <20% marketshare. They cut jobs for 200mm wafers. That is less profitable than the 300mm wafers Intel currently produces. This is also because Intel's 300mm manufacturing is completely automated, you just need highly skilled people to maintain and Quality Control the machines. 200mm manufacturing was not fully automated and the machines weren't as reliable. "Out with the old in with the new" is the slogan for this layoff. Intel doesn't need people who do the work in making 200mm wafers, machines do that now, and machines are cheaper..


I'd like to see proof of your opinions please. You seem to be "dead wood" to me. (how do you like it now, that your job is on the line?)


RE: Now I've seen it all!
By Arterion on 5/3/2007 6:52:51 PM , Rating: 2
I hope you end up poor for a couple years.

You'll regret all things you've said. You'll learn how life is for people who really have to worry about making it.


RE: Now I've seen it all!
By cochy on 5/3/2007 7:20:22 PM , Rating: 2
Why would he? He's speaking from a company like Intel's point of view. Corporations do not emphasize with people's lives. If you get fired it's like getting dumped by your gf. You need to move on and depending on your skill set it shouldn't be hard to grab your bags and move on to something new. I'm sure their severance packages are more than adequate. Intel is cutting job and streamlining operations so they can lower prices for us consumers.


RE: Now I've seen it all!
By bupkus on 5/3/2007 7:47:03 PM , Rating: 2
Yah, that's the ticket, Intel is a public service only trying to reduce prices to us the consumers. :p


RE: Now I've seen it all!
By cochy on 5/4/2007 1:21:57 AM , Rating: 2
Well obviously they main motivation is higher profits. They are cutting prices as we can all see. They need to reduce expenses to pay for those price cuts.


RE: Now I've seen it all!
By retrospooty on 5/4/2007 12:17:52 AM , Rating: 4
You have to remember, companies dont just cut a random 20%, they cut the least productive old dogs that aren't even trying anymore. Every company with long time employees has this issue, and most managers would love a layoff to get rid of some dead weight.


RE: Now I've seen it all!
By kalak on 5/7/2007 4:29:28 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
You have to remember, companies dont just cut a random 20%, they cut the least productive old dogs that aren't even trying anymore


You are WRONG !!!!
They DO this ! Yes, R.A.N.D.O.M. !!! I have worked for 19 years in IT for now and, believe me, they just cut people. NO analysis... NO interview.... Just GET OFF !!!
"fired at will!"


RE: Now I've seen it all!
By Griswold on 5/3/2007 2:42:36 PM , Rating: 3
Instead of cutting jobs "because these people work on 200mm wafers which are obsolete", Intel could modernize that part of the Fab and start churning out more 300m wafers. But reality is, Intel will do that in China instead.

Be nice if they (and you) call it what it is.

quote:
Yes you do, I have plenty of people here 20+ years I would love to see fired, they are outdated, they suck, and are in the way of the modern era. Intel knows this and is taking the appropriate action.


That kind of attitude usually comes from people who never truly worked in their life, be it because daddy got the money and built the company or they're too young and think its "cool" to talk like the big CEOs. I just hope this arrogance will, one day, hit you straight in the face.


RE: Now I've seen it all!
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 5/3/07, Rating: -1
RE: Now I've seen it all!
By FITCamaro on 5/3/2007 3:59:09 PM , Rating: 1
It's also why your coworkers hate you and will likely work together to get you fired. Newsflash for you, the guy in charge likely has been there a long time and is better friends with them than you.

And I don't know where you work, but at least in real engineering, many companies are having to hire back older employees because the "new kids on the block" don't know shit and they want experienced people who know what they're doing. And I say that as a 24 year old who, as I watch people coming in for interviews, see mostly people in their 40s-50s getting hired.

Yes it means I get to train them on new tools (I'm not in IT but I administer a requirements tool) and they're perfectly capable of learning. The only time they're not is when they're lazy or they insist on doing things the way they've done it for years. Good engineers evolve with the times.

Unfortunately all this "process" shit is only creating younger employees who never think about how to get things done because a process is defined and they're forced to do it that way even if there's a better, faster way. Luckily I don't always conform to them and suggest the better ways to do things at my job and so far, have gotten what I want to make my job easier.