What are the topics covered? There’s Intel pay cuts following a large Q4 loss, ASML prospering, the need for more employees in the chip industry, and Espressif using RISC-V cores in its latest ESP32 wireless MCUs.
5. Pay cut at Intel
Intel is cutting pay by 5% for mid-level employees, by 10% for vps, 15% for senior execs and 25% for the CEO. The cuts come in the wake of a $700 million Q4 loss. Intel is said to have reduced its 401(k) matching programme from 5% to 2.5% and suspended both merit raises and quarterly performance bonuses. Hourly paid employees and those on Intel grade 6 and below are unaffected.
4. ASML financials defy all headwinds
Defying the device market downturn, curbs on exports to China and the woes of its customers, ASML delivered a very strong series of financial numbers for Q4, 2022 and into 2023. Q4 profit was $1.85 billion on revenues of $6.4 billion, and 2022 profit was $5.93 billion on revenue of $16.26 billion. Represented by a series of graphics, here are the figures.
3. Q4 loss at Intel
Intel had a Q4 loss of $700 million on revenues down 32% y-o-y at $14 billion. “Clearly the financials aren’t what we hoped for, but we’re also pleased with the execution process we made,” said CEO Pat Gelsinger. “The macro is difficult. It was difficult in Q4. We expect it to remain difficult as we go through the first half of the year, but we’re laser focused on controlling the things that we can.” The PC business saw revenues fall 36% to $6.6 billion and datacentre business revenues fell 33% to $4.3 billion.
2. Chip industry needs 1m more employees by 2030
Employment in the semiconductor industry will have to rise from 2 million today to 3 million by 2030, according to Deloitte’s 2023 semiconductor industry outlook. “An industry that operates in more locations will need more talent, and more dispersed talent, to make trillions of dollars’ worth of chips,” says the report. “Their talent challenges are compounded by the urgent need to build large-scale fab facilities in multiple regions.”
1. Espressif adopts RISC-V for next gen EPS32s, adds Wi-Fi 6 and BT 5
Espressif has used RISC-V cores in its latest ESP32 wireless microcontrollers. ESP32-C6 has a 160MHz RISC-V core for performance and 20MHz RISC-V processor for power-saving, 320kByte ROM, 512kbyte, and external flash capability. On-board are transceivers for 2.4GHz Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 (LE) and the 802.15.4 LR-WPAN (low-rate wireless personal area network) protocol. “ESP32-C6’s support for IEEE 802.15.4 and Wi-Fi radios, along with Bluetooth 5 (LE) connectivity, enable customers to build Matter-compliant Wi-Fi end-point devices and Thread end-point devices, thus achieving interoperability in smart-home devices.”
