Former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, who unexpectedly resigned earlier this month, is asking supporters to affix him in prayer and fasting for the corporate’s workforce as layoffs proceed to have an effect on 1000’s of workers.
Gelsinger, 63, introduced his retirement after Intel reported a $1.6 billion quarterly loss. After turning into CEO in 2021 with a daring plan to revitalize Intel, Gelsinger’s departure got here simply days after tensions reportedly flared throughout a board assembly the place Gelsinger was knowledgeable he may both retire or face removing.
In a submit shared on X Dec. 8, Gelsinger revealed that he observes a weekly 24-hour day of prayer and fasting and invited others to affix him this week. “This week I’d invite you to join me in praying and fasting for the 100K Intel employees as they navigate this difficult period,” Gelsinger wrote. “Intel and its team are of seminal importance to the future of the industry and US.”
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An outspoken Christian, Gelsinger first started working at Intel when he was 18. As CEO of VMWare in 2013, he co-founded Remodeling the Bay with Christ, a nonprofit group that works to jumpstart a Jesus motion within the San Francisco Bay Space to result in a religious and societal transformation.
It’s not the primary time Gelsinger has taken to social media to publicly name for prayer and fasting: he repeatedly said his common Thursday routine of fasting and prayer in 2016 and 2022.
The response to Gelsinger’s name to fasting and prayer was combined, with some pledging to affix his effort and others mocking him for searching for religious steerage for a secular endeavor.
One person wrote: “I appreciate your religiosity, but to think that praying to God will get God to intercede on the behalf of Intel over its chip-making competitors is a very different kind of religion than I think I’m willing to admire. In your time at Intel you should have made better products.”
One other replied, “As a shareholder I would view this as a big red flag if a fired CEO asks me to pray for the company.”
Gelsinger obtained comparable reactions again in August when he posted a Bible verse after saying greater than 15% of the tech firm’s workforce shall be laid off amid its plummeting share value.
“Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways,” Pat Gelsinger posted on X, quoting Proverbs 4:25-26.
His submit got here days after he introduced in a word to workers in August that the chipmaking firm could be chopping about 17,000 of its 116,500 staff as a part of a $10 billion cost-reduction plan, in response to FOX Enterprise.
“This is an incredibly hard day for Intel as we are making some of the most consequential changes in our company’s history,” Gelsinger stated. “Simply put, we must align our cost structure with our new operating model and fundamentally change the way we operate.”
Intel’s inventory value cratered 26% within the wake of Gelsinger’s announcement, marking its worst day in 50 years and second-worst ever, in response to CNBC. In July 1974, the corporate noticed a 31% drop simply three years after its preliminary IPO.
“Well bless their hearts.”
