Updated Intel plans to cut its workforce by approximately 5,400 employees this year, a company spokesman told The Reg.

After the workforce reduction was revealed by Reuters, Intel senior manager of corporate and financial PR Chris Kraeuter confirmed to us that there will be a reduction of "about 5 per cent" of the company's 107,600 employees during this year.

The news comes in the wake of Intel's earnings report announced this Thursday, in which revenues for fiscal 2013 dropped to $52.7bn from 2012's $53.3bn, a slippage of just over 1 per cent.

Thursday's report included company guidance that revenues would be "approximately flat" for the full 2014 fiscal year, and that revenue for the first quarter of 2014 is expected to be $12.8bn, plus or minus $500m, down from the $13.8bn reported for the final quarter of 2013 – a not unexpected drop when seasonality is factored in.

In its Thursday Form 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Intel indicated that it had "added approximately 2.5K employees in 2013."

With today's news, that trend line is now to be reversed. ®

Update

After this article was posted, Intel's Kraeuter contacted us with the following statement:

I'd like to clarify that we are not announcing a layoff. Business groups are developing plans to reduce spending and this will include some reduction in headcount. In addition, we are realigning and refocusing our resources to meet the needs of the business. When we talk about reduction of the workforce there are a number of things that can happen. It could include redeployments, voluntary programs, retirements, and through attrition. All are options so it would be wrong to conclude this is a layoff. Our usual rate of attrition is close to 4 percent worldwide.