Intel India to not hire in 2014, to realign workforce with tablet segment

Global chip major Intel on Sunday said it is shifting its workforce internally in India to areas of growth like tablets from traditional segments like personal computers.

The company, which has announced it would trim 5,000 jobs globally this year, will not hire manpower in India in 2014.

"Our headcount projection for this year in India is flat. We will not grow our manpower. Instead, we are shifting our manpower internally to areas of growth," Intel India president Kumud Srinivasan told PTI in Guwahati.

The biggest gap lies due to lack of infrastructure and utilisation of that infrastructure, she said.

"To optimise our resources, we are looking to shift the resources to the new areas of growth such as tablet, which experienced rapid increase in last year. IoT is another area that we are increasing our focus," Ms Srinivasan said. She also mentioned mobile as another area of growth.

She said the PC penetration in India is only 10 per cent and the same for broadband is 5 per cent, and thus, there is potential for the IoT segment.

Stating that consumers have become very gadget-friendly, Ms Srinivasan said India is poised to "jump a leap forward" in the technology market segment.

At present, Intel India has a total workforce of around 6,000 people, of which about 70 per cent are engaged in research and development work, she said.

Talking about the domestic market, she said, "All emerging markets are seeing growth for Intel and India is growing a lot. As per our marketing strategy, we are now going to Tier II and Tier III cities. It helps us understand the market and the needs in a better way."

The company had said it will invest over $120 million in consolidating its existing R&D infrastructure in Bangalore.

Earlier in January this year, Intel Corporation had announced plans to trim more than 5,000 jobs from its workforce in 2014 in an effort to boost its earnings, amid waning demand for its personal computer chips.

The workforce reduction will be achieved through attrition, buyouts and early retirement offers instead of directly laying off workers.

It represented about 5 per cent of the roughly 1,08,000-strong payroll at the end of December 2013.