Each year, investors grant a pool of shares to Intel for distribution to employees in the form of RSUs, PSUs, and options. The higher the stock share price, the fewer shares are used from the pool of available shares. In simple terms, a higher price is better for the company in terms of taxes and finances. The stock price is pushed higher due to the issuance of RSUs to cover missed salary in Q4. To put it simply, if Intel saved a billion dollars and is paying it back in the form of RSUs, when the share price is $30, they use 34 million shares, but if it’s $40, they use 25 million shares. This explains why the stock price is high now.
After the release of the new Xeon, DCAI will undergo layoffs of a couple of hundred employees, mostly in the software division, as the main purpose of the new group is to transition from SATG to DCAI. You may know if you’ve heard the internal news.