True, Gelsinger had unveiled plans for a $20 billion chipmaking facility in Ohio and expanded operations in Europe. Intel will also — maybe — benefit from billions in aid, thanks to the CHIPS Act to support America’s chip foundry construction. I say maybe because President-elect Donald J. Trump wants to kill CHIPS. He believes tariffs on foreign companies, such as Taiwan-based TSMC, will magically generate billions of dollars to build new semiconductor foundries in the US. Yeah. Sure.
Now, in the wake of Gelsinger’s departure, Intel has appointed CFO David Zinsner and Chief Product Officer Michelle Johnston Holthaus as interim co-CEOs. The board has created a search committee to find a permanent replacement “diligently and expeditiously.” I think I’d have worked on finding a new CEO long before now, but that’s just me.
Frankly, I think Intel is done. No, it won’t fall apart tomorrow. But short of a government bailout, much bigger than the one Trump doesn’t want a thing to do with, I don’t see Intel surviving in the long run.