A Third of the Workforce GoneThin moat

Intel (INTC) — moat facet

Intel has cut a third of its workforce since 2023 to pay for its factories, and the people leaving are not always the ones it chose.

The quickest change at Intel has been in its size. It had 124,800 employees at the end of 20231, 108,900 at the end of 20242, 85,100 at the end of 20253 and 82,300 at 27 June 20264, a fall of about 34%5. The 2025 restructuring plan alone reduced the core workforce by about 15% from its mid-2025 level6.

Employees (thousands)124.82023108.9202485.1202582.3June 2026Intel Forms 10-K FY2023-FY2025; Q2 2026 results release
About a third smaller in two and a half years.

The cuts were forced by the losses. Restructuring and other charges were $6,970 million in 2024 and $2,191 million in 20257. They were meant to make the product groups profitable enough to carry the factories.

They have worked in the income statement. Research and development fell from $16,546 million in 2024 to $13,774 million in 2025, and marketing, general and administrative from $5,507 million to $4,624 million8. Management guided non-GAAP operating expenses to roughly $16.5 billion for 20269.

The cost is people the business may need. Intel's undesired turnover rose to 7.9% in 2025 from 5.9% in 202410, and its risk factors warn of the loss of historical, technical and other expertise11.

The reductions came in two waves. The 2024 restructuring plan aimed at an approximate 15% decrease in the core workforce by early 202512, and the 2025 plan reduced it by about 15% again from the second-quarter 2025 level13. Headcount at Mobileye and other subsidiaries was about 4,700 at June 202614, so the core company is smaller still.

A smaller Intel is a cheaper one, not necessarily a better one. The number to follow is headcount against revenue: revenue per employee rose as headcount fell, and a return to hiring while revenue is still growing would say the cuts went too deep.

Moat trajectory: Widening

Operating costs fell sharply; the 2026 opex guide is about $16.5bn.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Employees, latest quarter
82,300 (27 June 2026); 124,800 at end-2023

The size of the cost base; rehiring while revenue grows would say the cuts went too far.

Source: Intel Q2 2026 results release ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
The Engineers Who Chose to Leave
Intel's unwanted departures rose by a third in 2025, as it cut costs while asking its engineers to deliver two new processes.
References
  1. ReportedIt had 124,800 employees at the end of 2023, 108,900 at the end of 2024, 85,100 at the end of 2025 and 82,300 at 27 June 2026, a fall of about 34%.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2023 - customer concentration naming Dell, Lenovo and HP, headcount, and revenue by billing region including China in 2021. — FY2023 · publ. January 2024 · source ↗
  2. ReportedIt had 124,800 employees at the end of 2023, 108,900 at the end of 2024, 85,100 at the end of 2025 and 82,300 at 27 June 2026, a fall of about 34%.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2024 - the 2024 restructuring, dividend suspension, goodwill impairment and headcount. — FY2024 · publ. January 2025 · source ↗
  3. ReportedIt had 124,800 employees at the end of 2023, 108,900 at the end of 2024, 85,100 at the end of 2025 and 82,300 at 27 June 2026, a fall of about 34%.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 27 December 2025) - financial statements and notes: results, capital, government and partner transactions, restructuring and tax. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedIt had 124,800 employees at the end of 2023, 108,900 at the end of 2024, 85,100 at the end of 2025 and 82,300 at 27 June 2026, a fall of about 34%.
    Intel second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1. — Q2 2026 · publ. 23 July 2026 · source ↗
  5. Moat Explorer calcIt had 124,800 employees at the end of 2023, 108,900 at the end of 2024, 85,100 at the end of 2025 and 82,300 at 27 June 2026, a fall of about 34%.
    Moat Explorer calculation from Intel's reported figures ($ millions unless stated). Segment margins 2025: Client Computing 9,317 / 32,228 = 28.9% (2024: 11,594 / 33,346 = 34.8%; Q2 2026: 2,343 / 8,877 = 26.4%); Data Center and AI 945 / 15,980 = 5.9% (2023), 1,414 / 16,125 = 8.8% (2024), 3,422 / 16,919 = 20.2% (2025), 2,474 / 6,262 = 39.5% (Q2 2026); Intel Products 12,739 / 49,147 = 25.9%. Revenue shares 2025: client 32,228 / 52,853 = 61.0%; data center 16,919 / 52,853 = 32.0%; together 49,147 / 52,853 = 93.0%. Client growth Q2 2026: 8,877 / 7,871 - 1 = 12.8%. Foundry: internal revenue 17,826 - 307 = 17,519, 17,519 / 17,826 = 98.3%; external share 307 / 17,826 = 1.7%; operating losses 7,083 + 13,291 + 10,318 = 30,692. Intel share of x86 server revenue Q1 2026: 100 - 46.2 = 53.8%. Revenue 2025 against 2021: 52,853 / 79,024 - 1 = -33.1%. Headcount 82.3 / 124.8 - 1 = -34%. Government stake 433.3M x $127.39 = about 55.2 bn; purchase funds 5.7 + 3.2 = 8.9 bn. Warrants 241M x (127.39 - 20.00) = about 25.9 bn. Nvidia stake 215M x 127.39 = about 27.4 bn; 215 / 4,994 = 4.3%. Backers 11.0 + 8.9 + 5.0 + 2.0 = 26.9 bn. Apollo 14.2 - 11.0 = 3.2 bn. Mobileye 100% - 23% = 77%. Net debt end-2025: (2,499 + 44,086) - (14,265 + 23,151) = 46,585 - 37,416 = 9,169; 27 June 2026: (1,988 + 48,549) - (12,874 + 16,853) = 50,537 - 29,727 = 20,810. Shares: diluted 4,530 / 4,090 - 1 = 10.8% (2021-2025); outstanding June 2026 5,043 against 4,090 diluted in 2021 = 23% more. China share of revenue 12,694 / 52,853 = 24.0% (2025); 15,532 / 53,101 = 29.2% (2024); China 12,694 / 22,961 - 1 = -44.7% (2021-2025). Gross margin 43,815 / 79,024 = 55.4% (2021); 21,711 / 54,228 = 40.0% (2023). R&D 16,546 - 13,774 = 2,772; R&D share of revenue 13,774 / 52,853 = 26.1% (2025), 16,546 / 53,101 = 31.2% (2024). Operating cash flow to gross capital spending 9,697 / 17,672 = 0.55. All Other external revenue: 54,228 - 32,305 - 15,980 - 547 = 5,396 (2023); 53,101 - 33,346 - 16,125 - 159 = 3,471 (2024); 52,853 - 32,228 - 16,919 - 307 = 3,399 (2025). Trailing EPS to June 2026: -0.06 - (-0.19 - 0.67) + (-0.73 - 2.16) = -2.09. Market value 669.37 / 86.48 = 7.7 times end-2024; share price 127.39 / 29.23 = 4.4 times the 52-week low - other arithmetic. — 2015-2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
    Method: Arithmetic on figures reported in Intel's Forms 10-K, 10-Q, results releases, prepared remarks and market data; operands shown in the source line.
  6. ReportedThe 2025 restructuring plan alone reduced the core workforce by about 15% from its mid-2025 level.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 27 December 2025) - financial statements and notes: results, capital, government and partner transactions, restructuring and tax. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedRestructuring and other charges were $6,970 million in 2024 and $2,191 million in 2025.
    Intel fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - statements, capital spending and adjusted free cash flow. — FY2025 · publ. 22 January 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedResearch and development fell from $16,546 million in 2024 to $13,774 million in 2025, and marketing, general and administrative from $5,507 million to $4,624 million.
    Intel fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - statements, capital spending and adjusted free cash flow. — FY2025 · publ. 22 January 2026 · source ↗
  9. ReportedManagement guided non-GAAP operating expenses to roughly $16.5 billion for 2026.
    Intel Q2 2026 earnings call prepared remarks (CEO and CFO). — Q2 2026 · publ. 23 July 2026 · source ↗
  10. ReportedIntel's undesired turnover rose to 7.9% in 2025 from 5.9% in 2024, and its risk factors warn of the loss of historical, technical and other expertise.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 27 December 2025) - Item 1A risk factors and legal proceedings. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
  11. ReportedIntel's undesired turnover rose to 7.9% in 2025 from 5.9% in 2024, and its risk factors warn of the loss of historical, technical and other expertise.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 27 December 2025) - Item 1A risk factors and legal proceedings. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
  12. ReportedThe 2024 restructuring plan aimed at an approximate 15% decrease in the core workforce by early 2025, and the 2025 plan reduced it by about 15% again from the second-quarter 2025 level.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2024 - the 2024 restructuring, dividend suspension, goodwill impairment and headcount. — FY2024 · publ. January 2025 · source ↗
  13. ReportedThe 2024 restructuring plan aimed at an approximate 15% decrease in the core workforce by early 2025, and the 2025 plan reduced it by about 15% again from the second-quarter 2025 level.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 27 December 2025) - financial statements and notes: results, capital, government and partner transactions, restructuring and tax. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
  14. ReportedHeadcount at Mobileye and other subsidiaries was about 4,700 at June 2026, so the core company is smaller still.
    Intel second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1. — Q2 2026 · publ. 23 July 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 25, 2026