Intel “Panther Lake” processors remain on the right track in the middle of massive layoffs

Intel said Thursday that the next Big Bet CPU of the company, Panther Lake, remains on the right track to start shipping this year, and the 18A manufacturing process has already entered production. However, Intel plans to finish 2025 with only 75,000 employees while it continues to reduce its workforce.

The Director General of Intel Lip-Bu Tan also characterized the distance from Intel from Hyperthreading, began with his “Arrow Lake” chip, as an error.

As Intel said profits for the second quarter of 2025, the company’s message was that it continues to run on a strategy to focus on customers and engineering. As part of this, Intel recorded $ 1.9 billion in restructuring costs, mainly linked to the reorganization of manufacturing and assembly operations.

“I know that the last months have not been easy,” wrote the Director General of Intel, Lip-Bu Tan in a note to employees. “We make difficult decisions but necessary to rationalize the organization, stimulate greater efficiency and increase responsibility at all levels of the company.”

Tan’s objectives are “right-sided” the company’s workforce and take them into account, both by cutting the workforce and thinning the rows of intermediate management. Tan has also said that the company is slowing the development of its Ohio Chip Fab – which was partially funded by the Act chips, signed during the Biden administration. Intel plans to consolidate its assembly and test operations in Costa Rica on larger sites in Vietnam and Malaysia, and not to go ahead with “projects” in Poland and Germany. According to rumors, Intel may have shutter operations in Israel, but that did not happen. Tan qualified the Intel factory strategy as “unnecessarily fragmented” at a conference call with analysts.

The Intel Puce’s Roadmap is on the right track …

Tan, however, seems to be completely behind the roadmap of the existing product of Intel, which is centered on the new generation of Intel Lake Panher chip and the 18a support process. He called the 18a (and a related 18A-P process) process “the basis of at least the three generations of customer products and the Intel server,” said Tan, offering significant platelet volumes in the next decade.

“We do not actually arrive at peak volumes on 18A before the start of the next decade,” said Intel’s financial director David Zinsner during the call. “So it will be a knot that we have been using for a very long time, and we expect a very good return on investment [return on investment] On this.

It is a change marked compared to past years. Intel has just completed a frantic process of establishing five process nodes in four years, part of the strategy of the former director general of Pat Gelsinger to find manufacturing leadership after years to go beyond the node of Process 14 Nm. Intel’s 18a process was supposed to be the end of this road, although Intel recently started talking about “18A-P” process technology, which would include Ribbonfet and Powervia technologies of Intel.

For the moment, customers continue to buy older chips such as Lake Raptor and the demand for technology of the Intel 7 process on which they are built remain tight, said Zinsner. “I think, you know, the prices of Lake Raptor are, I think, where many consumers and companies buy PCs,” said Zinsner.

Wall Street analysts seemed doubtful, with the same requesting whether the manufacturing node beyond 18a, known as 14a, would be too late – or, to say it otherwise, if Intel indirectly said that he would completely leave the foundry sector.

But future products seem a little doubtful

Tan replied by saying that the design team 14A is “focused on laser” on the insurance of the basic elements of the technology. But it seems that Tan could leave the Intel options open. “The 14a is a process node, but clearly I will make sure that, you know, I see the internal customer, commitment to the volume of external customer, before putting the ceiling[ital] Back to the operation. “”

Tan later said that the 14A process should make its debut in 2028 or 2029.

Soon, however, Intel expects customers to go to the most recent fleas.

Adam Patrick Murray / Foundry

“Panther Lake is our absolute priority because it will strengthen our strength in notebooks between consumers and businesses,” Tan told employees. “We must also generate continuous progress on Lake Nova to fill the gaps in the high -end office space.”

The first Panther Lake processor remains on the right track to start shipping later this year, with additional products to come in the first half of 2026, said Intel.

Tan said he would sign each new major product before hiding. Tan also said in an analyst’s call that he did not believe in “if you build it, they will come”. Instead, Intel will create what customers want, when they need it, he said. Tan said that he was also in favor of “cleaner”, more effective conceptions.

Interestingly, Tan also criticized Intel’s decision to eliminate hyperthreading, also known as simultaneous hyperthreading (SMT). Although he addressed this as a problem in the data center, it will be interesting to see if Intel also makes a similar decision to return the hyperthreading to his office and customer chips.

“Getting away from SMT put us in a competitive disadvantage,” said Tan. “Reduing it will help us fill the performance gaps.”

Finally, Intel will move away from an approach strictly based on AI. “We will focus our AI efforts on the development of a cohesive silicon, system and software battery strategy,” said Tan.

“We have a lot to resolve to advance the business, said Tan.” And I am determined to generate the changes necessary to improve our performance. “”

Intel lost $ 2.9 billion for the second quarter, under the CGG method, recording a flat turnover of $ 12.9 billion. Intel’s prospects, however, were better than expected: $ 12.6 billion at $ 13.6 billion, which was more than Wall Street was waiting for. Intel client’s IT group revenues fell 3% against the same quarter in 2024, to $ 7.9 billion.

This story was updated at 3:29 p.m. with additional details.