Dhaka, July 25 -- U.S. chipmaker Intel is laying off thousands of employees and scaling back projects as part of an aggressive restructuring drive under its new CEO, aimed at regaining lost ground in a competitive semiconductor market.

In a memo to employees on Thursday, CEO Lip-Bu Tan said Intel plans to end the year with 75,000 "core" employees-down from 99,500 at the end of last year-through a combination of layoffs and attrition. The company had previously announced a 15% workforce cut.

"These are difficult but essential steps to streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and reinforce accountability across the company," Tan said.

The chipmaker is also cancelling planned expansions in Germany and Poland and will relocate its assemb...