原文标题：
Intel board member quit after differences over chipmaker's revival plan
原文连结：https://reurl.cc/Orvrg9 (路透社)
发布时间：August 27, 202410:51 PM GMT+8
记者署名： Max A. Cherney
原文内容：
据三位熟悉此事的消息人士透露，
英特尔(INTC.O.)事会成员陈立武（Lip-Bu Tan）突然辞职，
原因是他与首席执行官Pat Gelsinger及其他董事，
在该董事认为的臃肿的编制、回避风险的文化以及落后的AI战略等问题上存在分歧。
半导体业资深人士陈立武（Lip-Bu Tan）在周四提交的一份监管文件中表示，
他离开董事会是因为个人决定“重新安排各种承诺的优先级”，
他仍然“支持公司及其重要工作”。
这位芯片软件公司 Cadence 的前执行长在两年前加入英特尔董事会，
作为恢复英特尔全球芯片制造商领导地位计划的一部分。
2023 年 10 月，董事会扩大 Tan 的职责，授权他监督制造业务。
据匿名消息人士透露，随着时间的推移，
Tan 对公司庞大的员工编制、该公司对于晶圆代工的应对，
以及英特尔的风险回避官僚文化感到沮丧。
这位备受投资人肯定的产业资深人士却因英特尔的策略而离职，
凸显了英特尔转型的不确定性。
Tan的离任，使董事会缺少对芯片产业的敏锐度，
因为其他董事会成员都来自学术或金融领域，
或是来自医疗、科技和航空产业的前高阶主管。
裁员计画也是Tan和董事会看法分歧的一环。
Tan想要的是针对性的裁员，特别是针对和工程研发无关的中间管理层。
对Tan和几位前管理层来说，英特尔的员工编制非常臃肿：
和AMD比较，在某些任务类似的team，员工数目居然达到了AMD的5倍。
一位前管理层表示，裁员的数目远远不够，他觉得至少要再多裁一倍。
Tan曾对人表示，他认为英特尔被官僚的中层经理所把持，
这些人阻碍了英特尔服务器和桌上型电脑芯片部门的进展，
因此裁员应集中在这些人身上。
英特尔前高管表示，英特尔的员工数目比Nvidia和台积电的总和还要多，
这导致英特尔的文化自满且缺乏竞争力，
这与英特尔共同创办人安迪-格鲁夫(Andy Grove)曾说过的
“只有偏执者才能生存”精神相去甚远。
英特尔的转亏为盈方案有赖于建立与台积电类似的代工业务，
但该公司尚未揭露任何大客户，并表示该业务预计要到 2027 年才能转亏为盈。
英特尔去年尝试以 54 亿美元收购以色列芯片制造商高塔半导体，
但因中国阻挠而告吹。
如果并购成功，英特尔将获得一个专门从事代工的组织，
而英特尔从来没有在这方面成功过。
据四位熟悉英特尔制造业务的消息人士透露，
如果没有高塔，
英特尔这家历史悠久的IDM缺乏与外部客户合作的需要专业知识，
而英特尔一直在努力吸引外部客户。
一位与 Tan关系密切的人士表示，
Tan对于董事会不采纳他的建议，
去让代工业务更以客户为中心，
以及去除不必要的官僚作风感到沮丧。
The sudden resignation of a high-profile Intel (INTC.O) board member came
after differences with CEO Pat Gelsinger and other directors over what the
director considered the U.S. company's bloated workforce, risk-averse
culture and lagging artificial intelligence strategy, according to three
sources familiar with the matter.
Lip-Bu Tan, a semiconductor industry veteran, had said he was leaving the
board because of a personal decision to “reprioritize various commitments”
and that he remained “supportive of the company and its important work,” in
a regulatory filing on Thursday.
The former CEO of chip-software company Cadence Design joined Intel’s board
two years ago as part of a plan to restore Intel’s place as the leading
global chipmaker. The board expanded Tan’s responsibilities in October 2023,
authorizing him to oversee manufacturing operations.
Over time, Tan grew frustrated by the company’s large workforce, its
approach to contract manufacturing and Intel’s risk-averse and bureaucratic
culture, according to the sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly.
The circumstances around Tan’s exit have not previously been reported. The
departure of the industry veteran, who is well-regarded by investors, over
Intel's strategy illustrates the uncertainty of its turnaround efforts.
Tan leaves as the company endures one of the bleakest periods in its
five-decade history that has left it vulnerable to a potential activist
shareholder attack, former executives said. Intel has hired investment bank
Morgan Stanley to prepare a defense, according to sources familiar with the
matter, confirming an earlier report.
Intel, headquartered in California, declined to comment. Tan’s venture
capital firm, Walden Catalyst, did not respond to a request for comment.
Tan’s exit leaves a vacuum of chip-industry technical and business acumen on
the board, which is populated by leaders in academia and finance, and former
senior executives from the medical, tech and aerospace industries, say
investors and semiconductor industry insiders.
Former Intel executives told Reuters the company began preparing for a
potential activist threat months ago. Reuters could not independently confirm
if any shareholders were preparing an approach.
‘ONLY THE PARANOID SURVIVE’
This month, Intel paused its dividend that it had been paying for decades
when it reported results and plans to reduce capital spending on factory
construction. The next day, investors wiped more than $30 billion from its
market value, or more than a quarter of its worth.
Intel’s struggles are occurring against the backdrop of aggressive
investment and sales from rivals swept up by the surge of interest in
artificial intelligence. The AI boom turned graphics chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA.O)
, opens new tab into a $3-trillion market-cap company. Intel passed on an
opportunity in 2018 to take as much as a 30% stake in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI,
Reuters previously reported.
Intel acquired at least two AI startups, among more than four efforts since
2010 to build a blockbuster AI chip, according to former executives. Even
though its Habana acquisition yielded promising AI chips, its senior leaders
left to form a rival effort in Israel, hurting Intel's program, two sources
said.
To cut costs, Intel announced in August layoffs of more than 15% of its
workforce, its second round of cuts in two years. Intel had nearly 125,300
employees globally according to its August financial results.
The layoff plan was one source of tension between Tan and the board,
according to sources. Tan wanted specific cuts, including middle managers who
do not contribute to Intel's engineering efforts.
Gelsinger, who took over in 2021 as part of a turnaround plan, added at least
20,000 employees to Intel's payroll by 2022.
To Tan and some former Intel executives, the workforce appeared bloated.
Teams on some projects were as much as five times larger than others doing
comparable work at rivals such as Advanced Micro Devices, according to
two sources. One former executive said Intel should have cut double the
number it announced in August years ago.
Tan has told people he believed Intel was overrun by bureaucratic layers of
middle managers who impeded progress at Intel’s server and desktop chips
divisions and the cuts should have focused on these people.
Intel's workforce, which is larger than those of Nvidia and Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing Co combined, has led to a complacent and
uncompetitive culture, far from the “only-the-paranoid-survive” ethos
of Intel co-founder Andy Grove, former Intel executives said.
MANUFACTURING STRUGGLE
Intel’s turnaround plan relies on building its foundry business, which helps
other companies manufacture chips, similar to TSMC. But the company has not
disclosed a big customer and has said the business is not expected to turn a
profit until 2027.
An attempt last year to break into contract-manufacturing through a
$5.4-billion purchase of Israel-based chip manufacturer Tower Semiconductor
was scuttled after China blocked the deal. Intel would have obtained an
organization dedicated to contract chipmaking, something Intel has never done
successfully.
Without Tower, Intel, historically a maker of its own chips, lacks the
expertise to work with external customers, which it has struggled to attract,
according to four sources familiar with Intel’s manufacturing business.
Tan grew frustrated as the board did not follow his recommendations over how
to make the manufacturing business more customer-centric and to remove
unnecessary bureaucracy, a person close to Tan said.
Intel has continued to build new factories in Ohio, Arizona and across Europe
without naming new customers.
心得/评论：
根据这篇报导 Intel董事会好不容易聘来外部的半导体产业老将陈立武
但人家提出建议想让代工业务上轨道 却不鸟他
终于成功赶跑这不长眼的外人了！！
Intel上次想搞代工也是死在文化问题上──根本不懂得如何服务外部客户
这样看来除非董事会愿意上美光来的那个新负责人大破大立
感觉真的是不太乐观啊