Intel announced that CEO Pat Gelsinger will retire and step down from the board of directors, effective immediately. Intel has appointed two interim leaders, CFO David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, as interim co-CEOs while the board begins a search for a new CEO. Speculation is rife that Gelsinger was forced out, especially in light of the company's poor performance in the stock market — Intel's stock price is down 61% since Gelsinger took over.
Gelsinger spent more than 40 years at Intel, returning in 2021 to lead the company after serving as the CEO of VMware. Intel's press release doesn't indicate Gelsinger's future plans. There have been many reports that Intel's board of directors is exploring a plan to split the company and spin off the foundry business. The press release says the board wishes to put the product group at the center of 'all we do,' which might indicate more restructuring. However, the company also said, "Returning to process leadership is central to product leadership, and we will remain focused on that mission."
Gelsinger presided over a tumultuous four years at Intel as the company struggled to regain its lost glory, both with its process node technology and finished products business. The company has recently undergone a series of extreme cost-cutting measures as it struggles to return to profitability, culminating in a restructuring and mass layoff of more than 15% of its workforce that will be concluded by the end of the year. Intel is still in the midst of laying off roughly 15,000 employees or more (potentially up to 17,475 based on recent Intel headcount numbers of 116,500). This ranks as the most severe layoff in Intel's 56-year history.
