Intel's dismal outlook and mass lay-offs prove Apple was way ahead of the curve ditching its chip
Lay-offs of 15,000 and $10bn costs to cut put Intel in a dire position
![Intel logo](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/UxptKsYdX3syFiAGSgF7ta-320-80.jpg)
Unless you've well and truly been living under a rock for the past better half of a decade, you'll know that Apple took the decision to ditch Intel from the Mac lineup and design its own chips instead. Dubbed Apple silicon, but more commonly known as M-series chips, these processors have made the best Macs faster, quieter, more powerful, and more efficient than ever.
And it looks like Apple was ahead of the curve in jumping ship from Intel, after the company unfortunately shared news of mass lay-offs. Around 15,000 employees will be laid off, and the company will have to cut $10 billion in costs, after some pretty heavy losses. It gives Intel a pretty bleak outlook for the future.
The numbers really don't look good. A loss of $1.6 billion in Q2 2024, a far cry from last quarter's $437 million loss, and a year-over-year revenue dip of 1%. Intel's Foundry business is a money pit, losing billions on new factories and fancy lithography that haven’t paid off yet. Even with the CHIPS Act ready to throw Intel a bone with up to $8.5 billion in funding, investors aren’t impressed. Intel is now the worst-performing tech stock in the S&P 500.
The situation is so dire that Intel’s big AI saviour, Lunar Lake, is already being downplayed by CFO David Zinsner as a "narrow targeted product" that won’t single-handedly save the day. Maybe Panther Lake will be better, but that’s not until 2026. By then, Apple will likely have M5 chips running circles around whatever Intel can muster.
The writing was on the wall when Microsoft jumped ship, ditching Intel for Qualcomm in its latest Surface devices. Even Microsoft, a long-time partner, saw the iceberg and steered clear. Intel's response? Scrambling to patch up two generations of defective CPUs with software updates, hoping to avoid recalls.
Thriving vs barely surviving
Intel’s plan to trim the fat includes cutting R&D and marketing spend by billions through 2026, reducing capital expenditures by over 20% this year, and halting non-essential work. They’re even suspending their dividend. These moves scream desperation, not innovation.
Apple, on the other hand, is thriving. The M-series chips have set a new standard, pushing the boundaries of what we expect from our devices. Since its launch, the M-series chips have been lauded for their performance, efficiency, and power, leaving Intel to eat Apple's dust. Intel, meanwhile, has been stumbling over its own feet, trying to play catch-up.
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Being able to design custom chips to work with your own custom hardware is something that gives companies like Apple a huge advantage over those buying off-the-shelf parts. Of course, that was Apple's primary motivator in exploring Apple silicon. More power, less energy consumption, and a seamless integration with macOS that's left Intel's offerings looking like relics of a bygone era.
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Connor is a technology writer and editor, with a byline on multiple platforms. He has been writing for over eight years now across the web and in print too. Connor has experience on most major platforms, though does hold a place in his heart for macOS, iOS/iPadOS, electric vehicles, and smartphone tech.
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simonmann Doesnt prove that at all, Apple wanted the ability to control their own destiny. Apple has made layoffs too, do you fanboys all suffer from collective selective memory loss?Reply -
Just_Me_D The tech industry as a whole has been laying people off for the past few years, and yes, Apple had some layoffs, too.Reply
Apple may have indeed seen the writing on the wall and opted to engineer its own chips or it had planned all along to engineer its own chip. Either way, it’s sad to hear that amount of people being laid off. -
FFR simonmann said:Doesnt prove that at all, Apple wanted the ability to control their own destiny. Apple has made layoffs too, do you fanboys all suffer from collective selective memory loss?
Damn… windows supply chain is crumbling after the “Microsoft outage”.
600 = 15,000, Windows fanboys do seem to have trouble counting. -
erikbock The problem tat Intel is going to have is pretty obvious. Laying off all these people, reducing the capital spend in innovation will tank their ability to keep up with Apple or Qualcom both. The future is ARM and Apple has known that and now Microsoft knows it too. Apple will use their silicon (Yes it is ARM nothing too proprietary) and MS will use Qualcom. Look for major manufactures to start jumping on the ARM bandwagon as well.Reply