Intel Cuts 67 Folsom Jobs While Hiring for GPU and AI Roles There

Intel's new WARN notice cuts 67 Folsom jobs, hitting chip engineers, while its careers site lists 97 Folsom-eligible openings, many in GPU and AI.

Graphic: Sacconews (Design Bot). Intel's Oct. 22 WARN notice covers 67 permanent layoffs in Folsom; its careers site listed 97 openings that include Folsom on Nov. 2. Original illustration; no Intel logos.

Intel is cutting jobs in Folsom again, and hiring there at the same time. The gap between the two shows where the chipmaker is headed.

On Oct. 22, Intel filed a notice with California's Employment Development Department (EDD) for a permanent layoff of 67 workers at its campus at 1900 Prairie City Road. The EDD lists Oct. 31 as the effective date. According to the filing, as reported by the Folsom Times, first separations come in the two weeks after Oct. 31 and more could follow through November. The Sacramento Business Journal broke the news Oct. 28.

Who is being cut

The filing's job-title list has not been published in full. The EDD posts only the summary row, and Intel did not tell reporters which departments are affected. Here is what the Folsom Times reported from the filing:

• Product development engineering: 19 jobs, made up of 14 product development engineers and five analog product development engineers. These are the only titles with published counts.
• Chip design and test: system-on-chip (SoC) debug, verification and functional validation engineers. Counts not reported.
• Software and architecture: cloud software architects, systems architecture and software development. Counts not reported.
• Sales and business: sales application engineers, sales and program management. Counts not reported.

That accounts for 19 of the 67 jobs. We could not confirm counts for the other 48. Folsom is a design and test campus, not a factory.

Who is being hired

On Nov. 2, Intel's careers site listed 97 openings that include Folsom as a location (one of 98 listings is a duplicate). Most of them (87) also list other Intel sites, so the hire may not land here. Only 10 list Folsom alone. Fourteen are internships and three are contract roles. Treat the count as a snapshot. Postings change daily.

The mix is the story. GPU (graphics chip) work appears in 21 of the 97 titles, including eight "GPU Design Verification Engineer" openings, plus GPU software, driver, logic and physical design roles. AI appears in another 13, from an "AI SoC" design engineer to AI software and systems architects. Foundry, memory and neuromorphic roles fill out the rest.

Graphic: Sacconews (Design Bot). Layoff titles as reported by the Folsom Times from the Oct. 22 filing (19 of 67 titled); openings from Intel's careers site as of Nov. 2. Job families and title keywords overlap, and postings are not hires. Original illustration; no Intel logos.

So Intel isn't walking away from verification or chip design in Folsom. It is dropping general product-development and SoC roles while posting GPU- and AI-specific ones. Intel hasn't explained the swap. But it fits what CEO Lip-Bu Tan has said since 2025 about fewer layers, tighter spending and a push into AI. A laid-off SoC validation engineer may fit some of those GPU openings, but nothing promises them an inside track.

The running tally

By our count of EDD reports, Intel has filed Folsom notices covering 878 positions since October 2024, 67 of them this year, and about 1,665 since December 2022. That's a tally of notices, not confirmed separations. Folsom Times puts the 2025 total at about 485, while EDD rows add up to 539, so treat the totals as approximate. Intel had more than 6,000 workers in Folsom in 2018 and about 4,300 by the end of 2023, the Folsom Times reports. Intel hasn't published a current Folsom headcount.

In September, Intel canceled its plan to sell the 162-acre campus and lease back part of it, saying ownership "best supports our long-term objectives." It kept the buildings and keeps shrinking the payroll.

"Folsom remains a core engineering and design location for Intel," Mayor Justin Raithel said in a statement to Abridged.

The wallet math

Sixty-seven jobs won't move Folsom's housing market. But these are well-paid engineering jobs, and the cuts since 2022 add up. Fewer six-figure paychecks mean less spending at local shops and restaurants, which feeds city sales-tax revenue, and fewer buyers for move-up homes. We don't have data on a direct effect on prices or city revenue, and we won't guess.

If you got a notice

• Check your notice pay. Intel says affected workers either got 60 days' notice, or got two weeks' notice plus nine weeks of pay and benefits instead. California's WARN law entitles you to up to 60 days of back pay and benefits if notice falls short.
• File for unemployment right away at edd.ca.gov. The maximum weekly benefit is $450. True severance under a company plan generally doesn't reduce benefits, but pay in lieu of notice can delay them. Report everything and let the EDD decide.
• Compare COBRA with Covered California. Losing job-based coverage opens a special enrollment window: you can apply from 60 days before to 60 days after that coverage ends, and a lower income can qualify you for subsidies. If you choose COBRA and let the window close, you generally can't switch until COBRA runs out or the next open enrollment.
• Read the severance agreement before you sign. If you're 40 or older and the agreement waives age-discrimination claims, federal law gives workers in a group layoff at least 45 days to consider it and seven days to revoke after signing. Check what happens to unvested stock and your ESPP shares.
• Look at the openings. If your skills match a GPU or AI posting, apply.

We will update if Intel explains the mix.