Intel Israel decided this year to cancel its traditional summer party, in light of current market conditions. This is what Globes has learned. The decision reflects the instruction of Intel CEO Pat Glaser to budgetarily examine any unnecessary expenditure, following the macroeconomic conditions.
“Strengthening focus and priorities will help us overcome the volatile macroeconomic environment, execute our strategy and meet commitments to customers, shareholders and employees,” Intel said in a statement last month.
As part of the steps taken by the chip giant, Intel has slowed down and in some cases even slowed down the recruitment of new employees. At the same time, the company released a memo last month that included further cuts, such as reducing work travel and attending industry conferences, as well as preferring virtual meetings as much as possible.
Although exports are at a peak, Intel is tightening its belts
Intel’s move to cancel the party is largely another expression of the sharp change taking place in the global technology industry. While 2021 was the year of celebrations and parties in the industry, 2022 stands for the belt tightening, for fear of entering a global recession. Similar to a large share of technology companies’ shares, Intel’s share has fallen by a significant 31% since the beginning of the year.
Intel is the largest employer in Israeli high-tech: 12,000 direct employees, along with another 2,000 employees in the automotive company Mobilai, which Intel hopes to issue this year. In the past year, Intel has recruited more than 1,000 new employees in Israel, and acquired two Israeli start-ups – Granolite and Scrinobite – for a total of about $ 750 million.
This week, Intel published data on its activity in Israel in 2021. According to the company’s announcement, Intel Israel’s exports reached an all-time high of $ 8.1 billion – accounting for 11% of all high – tech exports in Israel. At the same time, Intel made $ 2.2 billion in purchases from Israeli suppliers last year, an increase of 25% over the previous year.