I think that one thing that is lost on everyone is not the layoffs or Intel's incompetent management, but our basic philosophy and the philosophy of much of American High Tech.
In the 60s every baseball team had a Boog Powell; the guy who struck out lots but when he connected put the ball in the upper deck. Such a guy while frustrating was valuable - that is if you had singles hitters to set him up.
Intel has had 2 massive Grand Slams in it's history: the PC and server/database. They've made the company rich and given most of us good jobs.
But in our pursuit of the 3rd Grand Slam we have spent billions and ended up looking like fools. And as much as I dislike him, it's not just BK. Wall Street is waiting for the next Intel homer. So is all of American business. And so are most Intel employees. But the fact is old Boog struck out 10 times for every homer he hit. It's a poor model if you aren't also scoring with singles.
The truth is Intel has created plenty of singles products. I work for such a division; a solid single that makes 500+ million every year, with a good profit. And we currently expect to get dismantled. We're a profitable single in a company that does not want singles.
So what does Intel do? Trades the singles hitters or tries to make the single hitter into a home run hitter, which is impossible.
I sense that while most of you dislike management, you also are disappointed that we haven't discovered the next 10 billion dollar biz. Remember we can hit 1 homer or get 10 singles and still end up with a ton of money.
Management won't go that route; it listens to bean counters and Wall Street. And this is the reason, more than another other, that Intel might fail. There are no more grand slams at Intel.