Intel Requires Employees to Work From the Office More Often: 'This Action Is Necessary' The return-to-office mandate will go into effect on September 1.
By Sherin Shibu Edited by Dan Bova
Key Takeaways
- Intel is requiring that employees work four days a week from the office starting September 1.
- Intel staff previously worked three days a week from the office.
- CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the move was needed to create “a more collaborative work environment.”
Days after a report that Intel was planning to cut one-fifth of its staff, the chipmaker announced that employees would have to work from the office four days a week.
Intel's new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, 65, who began leading the company last month, delivered the news during Intel's first quarter 2025 earnings call on Thursday.
In the call, Tan stated that the company was "mandating" four days a week in-person, effective September 1, a departure from the previous policy of three days a week in the office.
"I know firsthand the power of teamwork, and this action is necessary to re-instill a more collaborative work environment, improve efficiency, and boost innovation," Tan said.
Tan framed the move as a way to reduce costs by becoming more efficient as an organization. On Thursday, Intel reported a net loss of $800 million for its first quarter, double the $400 million net loss it reported for the same time last year.
In a memo sent to employees on Thursday, which has since been published on Intel's site, Tan reiterated the importance of working in person more often.
"When we spend time together in person, it fosters more engaging and productive discussion and debate," Tan wrote. "It drives better and faster decision-making. And it strengthens our connection with colleagues."
Intel is also planning to move forward with layoffs to cut costs. Tan wrote in the memo that he intends to remove layers of bureaucracy and reduce the size of Intel's workforce. He stated that layoffs would start this quarter or occur from April through June. According to a Bloomberg report released Tuesday, Tan is planning to lay off over 21,000 roles, or 20% of Intel's 108,900-person workforce, in Intel's biggest round of cuts yet.
Related: 'This Company Has Been My Life': Intel CEO Retires, Reportedly Forced Out
Return-to-office mandates can also be seen as quiet layoffs, or a way to bring about voluntary turnover as employees consider leaving their jobs due to more stringent on-site work requirements. A report last year from Bamboo HR found that one in four C-suite executives hoped return-to-office orders would encourage employees to quit.
Tan became CEO of Intel on March 18 after decades of experience in the chipmaking business. He was CEO of chip software company Cadence Design Systems from 2009 to 2021 and served on Intel's board of directors from September 2022 to August 2024.
Tan is tasked with turning Intel around after years of declining revenue and increasing competition from rivals like Nvidia and AMD in the AI chip market. Intel's annual revenue dropped from $79 billion in 2021 to $53.1 billion in 2024. For the first quarter of 2024, revenue was flat year-over-year at $12.7 billion.
Intel stock has declined by over 40% in the past 12 months and by over 66% in the past five years at the time of writing.
