On March 18th, Intel's newly appointed CEO, Chen Liwu, was contemplating a comprehensive overhaul of the chip design and manufacturing business and considering implementing further layoffs. According to insiders, after officially taking over as CEO last week, Chen Liwu admitted in a meeting with all employees that the company is about to face a series of "difficult choices". Chen Liwu regards reshaping Intel's manufacturing business as one of his top priorities. This business originally only served Intel's internal chip needs, but has now transformed and begun producing semiconductors for external customers, including Nvidia. It is worth noting that before joining Intel, Chen Liwu served as the CEO of Cadence, a chip design software giant, and an active figure in the technology investment field. Prior to resigning from Intel's board of directors in August last year, he had been deeply involved in the company's strategic decision-making.

In this takeover, Chen Liwu is facing the dilemma that Intel has faced over the past decade due to three consecutive CEOs' wrong decisions. During this period, Intel failed to seize the opportunity in the smartphone chip market and did not respond promptly to the surge in demand for artificial intelligence processors, resulting in competitors Arm Holdings and Nvidia dominating the market.

Reform Blueprint: Multidimensional Revitalization (In Depth Analysis)

(1) Manufacturing Business Restructuring: Reshaping the Position of "World Class OEM" New Intel CEO Chen Liwu regards the company's manufacturing business restructuring as the core task of its revitalization plan. From solely producing chips internally to now producing semiconductors for external customers such as Nvidia, Intel's manufacturing business has undergone a significant transformation. Chen Liwu plans to further control these factories that are separated from the design business in terms of finance and operation, aiming to enhance their performance and reshape Intel's glorious image as a "world-class OEM factory". He will focus on improving chip manufacturing processes, increasing production or "yield" to attract more major customers such as Nvidia and Broadcom. Recently, Intel's demonstrated manufacturing process improvements have aroused strong interest from these potential customers and initiated early testing. Meanwhile, AMD is closely monitoring and evaluating Intel's processes, which undoubtedly brings new development opportunities for Intel's manufacturing business.

(2) Artificial Intelligence Strategic Adjustment: Seizing the Rapidly Growing Market In the field of artificial intelligence, Intel once lagged behind its competitors. However, Chen Liwu is determined to change this situation. He plans to restart the production of power chips for artificial intelligence servers and seek development opportunities outside of servers in multiple fields such as software, robotics, and artificial intelligence basic models. Although Intel will not be able to develop a remarkable new architecture for its first AI chip until at least 2027, Chen Liwu is still committed to promoting Intel's development in the field of artificial intelligence. He hopes that through this strategic adjustment, Intel can gain a share in the rapidly growing artificial intelligence market and gradually enhance the company's market competitiveness.

(3) Personnel structure optimization: Major layoffs to improve operational efficiency. In response to Intel's slow and bloated middle management, Chen Liwu plans to optimize personnel structure through layoffs. He believes that the large workforce has affected the company's decision-making speed and efficiency, and decisive measures must be taken to make changes. Although the number of Intel employees has decreased to nearly 109000 by the end of last year, Chen Liwu will still examine the workforce with a fresh perspective. He hopes to further improve the operational efficiency of the company through layoffs, so that Intel can respond more flexibly to market changes and achieve sustainable development. An Intel spokesperson emphasized in a statement that Chen Liwu will be committed to listening to the opinions of customers, partners, and employees, and working closely with the leadership team to lay a solid foundation for the company's future development.

According to Intel's filing on the 14th, Chen Liwu's basic salary is $1 million, with a 200% performance bonus, as well as $66 million in long-term equity awards, stock options, and new employee rewards. Chen Liwu promised to spend 25 million US dollars (800 million Taiwanese dollars, 180 million Chinese yuan) to purchase Intel stocks within 30 days of taking office, demonstrating his confidence in the company and determination to create shareholder value. At the same time, he will also receive long-term equity incentives worth $14.4 million and Intel stock performance rewards worth $17 million, both of which will be gradually realized over five years. In addition, Chen Liwu will also receive stock options worth $9.6 million and new employee options worth $25 million, demonstrating Intel's high expectations for him to lead the company out of difficulties.