GEORGE TOWN: United States (US) chip-maker Intel is continuing with its Penang expansion plans, which suggests that retrenchment is not on the table as part of its cost-cutting efforts as reported, said Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
“We did not visit Intel during my recent trip to the United States (US) and the state has not been informed of any retrenchment plans.
“We do not know how it will impact Penang but they are building their expansion here now. So we would expect them to recruit rather than retrench staff,“ he told reporters after a few agreements were signed between IJM Perennial Development and Maxis Broadband Sdn Bhd, GlobalComm Telecommunications Sdn Bhd, Hyatt International – Asia Pacific and Galaxy Minyoun Hotel at The Light City here today.
Earlier this month, the foreign media reported that chipmaker Intel had announced plans to slash more than 15 per cent of its workforce under a restructuring plan.
It was also reported that the California-based company will shed about 15,000 jobs as part of efforts to cut costs by US$10 billion in 2025.
Intel reported a revenue of US$12.8 billion in the second quarter of financial year 2024, down one per cent from a year ago and a US$1.6 billion net loss.
On his recent official US visit, Chow said Penang has received affirmation from existing investors that they have plans to continue expanding their operations.
“A majority of the companies we visited comprised existing investors who are thinking of expansion plans,“ he said.
He noted that the mission led by him together with InvestPenang delegates focused on renewing ties and strengthening relationships with American investors in Penang.
The Aug 4-14 mission involved 22 official strategic meetings and site visits to encourage further expansion of their Penang operations and to attract new investments.
The delegation visited MKS Instruments, Brooks Instrument, Lattice Semiconductor, AMD, Synopsys, Efinix, Agilent, Coherent, SambaNova and Western Digital, Centific, Monolithic Power Systems (MPS), Dexcom, Cohu, UST, TTM Technologies, Mattel and potential investors.
