US tech giant to cut 12,000 jobs worldwide

NEW YORK

U.S. tech giant Intel said Tuesday that it will cut 12,000 jobs by mid-2017 due to restructuring.

The global chip-maker said it is restructuring to focus more on cloud and smart devices -- from a PC company -- will also make the firm "more efficient and profitable.

"The data center and Internet of Things (IoT) businesses are Intel’s primary growth engines,” Intel said in a statement. “These growth businesses delivered $2.2 billion in revenue growth last year, and made up 40 percent of revenue and the majority of operating profit, which largely offset the decline in the PC market segment."

The decision to cut 11 percent of its workforce comes despite positive first quarter financial results. Net revenues rose to $13.7 billion from $12.8 billion -- a 7 percent increase year-on-year.

Meanwhile, net earnings were $2 billion, unchanged from the same period a year ago. Diluted earnings per share rose to $0.42, from $0.41.