Intel to close Shannon R&D office next year
Intel in Ireland has informed staff working for its Research and Development arm that it plans to close its office building in Shannon. Around 250 people are based out of the facility, but many of those work remotely much or all of the time. The company said it is still working through what the closure of the office building by the third quarter of next year will therefore mean for staff. But as of now compulsory redundancies are not under consideration it is believed. "We are still working through plans for each business unit," a spokesperson said. "Some employees may transition to different locations or move to remote work arrangements. We will provide more detailed information in coming months." It is understood that it may be possible for some of the effected staff to move to work out of the company's campus in Leixlip Co Kildare instead. There is also the possibility for some staff to take early retirement or voluntary redundancy packages as part of the current rationalisation process that is underway across the company. Sources indicated that the number of people physically working in the Shannon office has fallen markedly in recent years, with many remaining partially or fully remote after the pandemic ended. "We are shifting our global real estate strategy to focus on fewer, more populated locations," a spokesperson for Intel Ireland said. The story was first reported by the Irish Times. Last month Intel said it planned to cut more than 15% of its global workforce as the chipmaker pursues a turnaround focused on its loss-making manufacturing business. Around 4,900 people are employed by Intel in Ireland. A process has been underway across different business units for a number of weeks to figure out where cuts can be made. Voluntary redundancy and early retirement packages have also been offered to staff. It is still unclear as to how many Irish based staff will leave the organisation as part of the rationalisation. In October 2022, Intel announced a major cost-cutting plan which included thousands of redundancies as it looked to reduce its global headcount from almost 132,000 to just under 125,000. At its Irish operation, it led to 130 redundancies, pay cuts for senior managers and offers of voluntary unpaid leave to a large portion of its Irish-based workforce.
