As if its ongoing financial woes weren’t bad enough, Intel is still waiting on the US government’s payout of US$8.5 billion (~RM36.8 billion) in grants, as it is owed as one of the recipients of the Chips and Science Act. It is also supposed to receive US$11 billion (~RM47.6 billion) in loans as well but the problem is: it’s been six months since then.
According to Bloomberg, Intel is desperate and more importantly, frustrated at the government for “dragging its feet” on the matter, and is demanding that they speed up the process of disbursement. That isn’t to say the chipmaker has been playing nice either.
One of the prerequisites to be eligible for the grants is that each recipient meet specific milestones and after the government has done its due diligence in vetting them – Intel has reportedly been hesitant in sharing certain information with the Commerce Department, which is the division that oversees the Chips Act and its funding operations.
Again, it’s been blow after blow for Intel and its fortunes. After an abysmal earning report back in August, its shares plunged to their lowest levels in decades. That forced the chipmaker to layoff 19,000 people from its staff, or approximately 15% of its current total workforce.
It’s not all doom and gloom for Intel. The chipmaker is hoping that its recently launched Lunar Lake mobile processor lineup will alleviate some of the pressure but as always, only time will tell if the lineup will take, especially with stiff competition from traditional rival AMD and the newcomer Qualcomm.
