Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan described the company’s internal restructuring as 80% complete in a Nikkei interview in Tokyo earlier in October, according to Calcalist Tech’s report published Oct. 18, 2026. Tan’s estimate concerns the organizational overhaul. He also described Intel’s effort to narrow its foundry gap with TSMC as a longer-term challenge.
What Tan’s 80% estimate covers
Tan said he had replaced much of Intel’s senior management since becoming CEO. One named hire was Seok-Hee Lee, formerly CEO of SK Hynix, whom Tan brought into Intel’s senior leadership, Calcalist Tech reported. The account presents the 80% figure as Tan’s assessment of the company’s internal restructuring.
Intel’s foundry challenge is a separate effort
Tan described catching up with TSMC in contract chipmaking as a long-term challenge. He cited TSMC’s own rise to the top, saying it took the company 10 to 20 years to become the leading contract chipmaker. That is a comparison with TSMC’s history; Tan characterized Intel’s foundry effort as a longer-term undertaking. NeoTeo’s coverage of TSMC’s factory expansion and staffing constraints offers related context on foundry capacity and workers.
AI packaging and custom chips are potential growth areas
Tan identified advanced packaging for AI chips and custom application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) as possible growth areas for Intel, according to Calcalist Tech. An ASIC is a chip designed for a particular application. These were strategic possibilities in Tan’s comments, alongside the longer foundry effort.
Intel’s 2024 job-cut plan was a separate measure
The Associated Press reported on Aug. 1, 2024, that Intel planned to cut about 15% of its workforce, or roughly 15,000 jobs, as part of a cost-cutting plan. That report quantified planned job cuts; Tan’s later 80% estimate described the company’s internal restructuring, according to Calcalist Tech. The two figures refer to different measures and different points in Intel’s turnaround.
