AMD to cut around 1,000 staff to focus on “largest growth opportunities”

AMD has announced a 4% cut to its global workforce as part of a realignment of business priorities.

According to reports from CNBC, AMD issued a statement saying it would be taking a number of steps ultimately resulting in a workforce reduction.

“As a part of aligning our resources with our largest growth opportunities, we are taking a number of targeted steps that will unfortunately result in reducing our global workforce by approximately 4%,” the statement said.

AMD did not state what those specific growth opportunities were, though it said it was committed to ensuring impacted employees are treated with respect and are assisted through the transition.

A previous Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing stated that, as of December 2023, AMD employed a total of 26,000 staff members internationally. This means the layoffs could be equivalent to over 1,000 staff members.

The announcement comes after a promising charge in the AI space for AMD, with the firm’s Advancing AI event showing off strong footing in terms of the critical foundations needed for the technology.

At the firm’s Q2 2024 earnings call, AMD reported a 405% increase year-on-year in operating income in its data center unit. One analyst from IDC told ITPro that the firm is in a strong position to push hard on AI in 2025.

The firm’s Q3 earnings resulted in a 7% dip in shares according to reporting from Investopedia, though, with net income falling slightly below some estimates.

AMD isn’t the only chip giant making cuts

The move from AMD follows a raft of workforce cuts at industry rival, Intel, which announced plans to cut 15% of its workforce in August, equivalent to around 15,000 roles across its global workforce.

Speaking at the time, CEO Pat Gelsinger said the move was part of a cost structure realignment designed to change the firm’s operations, as it hadn’t been seeing enough revenue growth from technologies like AI.

Both AMD and Intel have been playing catch-up with industry rival Nvidia over the last two years. The chipmaker’s market value has surged due to soaring demand for its high-end chips, with big tech firms ramping up AI adoption and flocking to the firm.

Intel’s revenue had been falling before the August layoffs, and Gartner analyst Alan Priestly told ITPro the firm needs to focus on developing a clear product offering for AI in order to capitalize on the trend.