AMD announced it would cut about 4% of its global workforce, with a expected layoff of less than a thousand. This move comes as AMD continues to grow its x86 processor market share and is actively transforming into an artificial intelligence accelerator. However, AMD faces fierce competition from giants such as Nvidia in the field of AI, which may be the main reason for this layoff. The layoffs have also aroused the attention and discussion among industry insiders, and some people believe that the timing is not good.
American semiconductor company AMD recently announced that it will cut about 4% of its global employees, with the expected layoffs of less than 1,000. This move comes as AMD continues to surpass Intel in the x86 processor market, but in the transition from graphics processing unit (GPU) to artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator, AMD is facing fierce development with industry giant Nvidia compete.
"We have taken some targeted steps to align resources with our biggest growth opportunities, which unfortunately will result in a 4% reduction in global workforce," an AMD spokesperson said. The company promises to treat it with respect Affected employees and provide assistance during the transition period.
According to AMD's filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last year, the company had about 26,000 employees at the time. Now AMD only says that the number of layoffs will be less than 1,000. Although AMD predicts to reach $5 billion this year in AI chip sales, its total revenue target is $25.7 billion, showing that AMD's challenges in this area remain.
Although AMD occupies an important position in the gaming console processor and GPU market, AMD's growth has been restricted due to the performance of the new generation of products, especially the shortage of supply of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S affected by the epidemic. .
According to a report by Mercury Research, AMD's current share of Intel in the processor market has reached 34%, a significant increase from the past. However, analyst Jon Peddie said he was surprised by AMD's layoffs. In a message to GamesBeat, he mentioned: "AMD has performed well in recent quarters, although it has not met the expectations of some Wall Street analysts. But in terms of the number of employees, AMD does not seem to be overcrowded, and the timing of layoffs is very bad now. .”
To sum up, AMD has to take layoffs in the current fiercely competitive market environment to adjust resources and focus on more potential growth areas.
Points:
AMD will lay off about 4% of its employees, with an estimated number of less than 1,000.
Although AMD has performed well in the processor market, it faces strong competition in the field of AI chips.
Analysts expressed surprise at the layoffs and believed the timing was not ideal.
AMD's layoff decision reflects its difficult choice between balancing short-term performance with long-term strategic development goals, and also indicates the intensity of competition in the semiconductor industry in the future. AMD needs to make quick breakthroughs in the field of AI to ultimately overcome the challenges ahead.