News, February 2023, with an update added in November 2026.
Intel cut pay across its senior ranks in early 2023 to save money without immediate further layoffs. Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger took a 25 percent cut to his base salary, his executive leadership team 15 percent, senior managers 10 percent and mid-level managers 5 percent. The move came days after Intel forecast one of the worst quarters in its more than 50-year history. In the end the pay cuts did not prevent layoffs: Intel made large job cuts in 2024 and 2025.
Key takeaways
- The cuts, confirmed by Intel on Tuesday 31 January 2023, were tiered by seniority: 25, 15, 10 and 5 percent.
- Intel said the changes were designed to hit its executive population hardest.
- Intel's shares had lost almost half their value in 2022, as PC demand slumped and competition rose.
- Gelsinger was two years into a turnaround meant to restore Intel's technology leadership.
- Later events: about 15,000 job cuts announced in August 2024, Gelsinger's departure in December 2024, and deeper cuts under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan in 2025.
Who took what cut
| Group | Base pay reduction (2023) |
|---|---|
| CEO Pat Gelsinger | 25% |
| Executive leadership team | 15% |
| Senior managers | 10% |
| Mid-level managers | 5% |
Intel shares rose 0.1 percent in premarket trading in New York on the Wednesday after the announcement. The stock had lost almost half its value over the previous year.
What Intel said
Intel explained the decision in a statement:
"As we continue to navigate macroeconomic headwinds and work to reduce costs across the company, we've made several adjustments to our 2023 employee compensation and rewards programs. These changes are designed to impact our executive population more significantly and will help support the investments and overall workforce needed to accelerate our transformation and achieve our long-term strategy."
Why Intel was cutting costs
The move followed a gloomy outlook the previous week, when Intel predicted one of the worst quarters in its history. Stiffer competition and a sharp slowdown in personal computer demand had wiped out profits and eaten into Intel's cash reserves. At the same time Gelsinger wanted to keep investing in the company's future: new fabs, a foundry business for outside customers, and a roadmap meant to catch up with TSMC on process technology. He was two years into that turnaround, aimed at restoring Intel's leadership in what was then described as a USD 580 billion chip industry (the global market size as reported at the time, not re-verified here).
Pay cuts weighted to senior staff are a common first step for a company that wants to reduce costs while protecting engineering headcount. They save less than layoffs, but they send a signal that leadership shares the pain.
Update, November 2026: what happened next
The 2023 pay cuts did not, in the end, avoid layoffs. Based on public reporting:
- Intel carried out several rounds of smaller job cuts during 2023.
- In August 2024, after weak results, Intel announced a cost-reduction plan including about 15,000 job cuts, and suspended its dividend.
- Pat Gelsinger retired as CEO in December 2024. Lip-Bu Tan became CEO in March 2025.
- In 2025 Tan reorganised the company, flattening management layers. Intel was reported to be aiming for about 75,000 core employees by the end of 2025, well below the roughly 109,000 it had at the end of 2024.
For readers following semiconductor careers, the story is a reminder that compensation cuts at the top are often an early signal of deeper restructuring, not a substitute for it.
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