Intel CFO: “We lost quality people, but it was necessary”
David Zinsner says decision-making had become too slow under 11 layers of management.
Intel Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner gave one of his clearest explanations yet of the company’s recent cutbacks, framing them as a deliberate effort to impose discipline after years of unchecked spending and layers of management.
“The loss of headcount has been relatively consistent. We had already done some reductions so we were down to having to make decisions on people that are going to be quality people, quite honestly. That aspect of the attrition is certainly regrettable but necessary. Lip-Bu’s reductions in this round have been largely targeted at eliminating bureaucracy. It’s not to say any of these people were bad people, but we just had a lot of people and everybody had to be part of the decision. When everybody has to be part of the decision, it slows everything down,” Zinsner said at Citi’s 2025 Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference, describing how Intel’s 11 management layers have now been cut by half under CEO Lip-bu Tan.
The CFO also defended workforce reductions by noting that Intel continues to hire in critical areas such as AI.
Intel has also shifted its approach to capital spending. For decades, the company built new fabs and invested in advanced nodes well ahead of demand. “That has not served us well,” Zinsner said bluntly. Going forward, “We will build the capacity when we know we’ve got the demand for that capacity, and we will not do it before that.” He singled out the 14A node, where the economics of high-NA EUV mean it will only be sustainable if external customers commit. “If we don’t have customers that sign up for that, it’s going to be hard to justify that node just generally,” he warned.
Still, Zinsner stressed that Intel’s goal is not austerity but discipline. The company is targeting a return to operating margins in the 40s, up from the current 30s, by focusing resources on the right technologies and avoiding overextension. “At the end of the day, the biggest thing we can do is get products out that are really competitive. You end up with better pricing, you end up with better margins, and you end up with better share,” he said.
Zinsner also drew a line under financing strategy. With $3.8 billion in debt maturing this year, Intel intends to let all of it roll off. “Our intention is that all of it will mature and we will not refinance any of it,” he told investors, pointing to recent inflows from government grants, SoftBank, and the sale of Mobileye shares as giving the company sufficient breathing room.
