Intel, facing labor shortage, revokes no-rehire rule from prior layoffsUpdated: May. 21, 2022, 7:13 a.m. |Published: May. 21, 2022, 7:09 a.m.

It's not clear how many former employees want to return, but the no-rehire policy has been a source of lingering frustration. April 11, 2022 Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian

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When Intel dismissed more than 13,000 people in mass layoffs that began seven years ago, the company also instituted a prohibition against ever rehiring those who lost their jobs.

The unusual rule rankled both those Intel laid off and the workers who remained behind, who were perplexed the company wouldn't let them fill open positions by hiring qualified former colleagues.

Now, Intel has quietly revoked the no-rehire rule and says it will welcome back workers who can fill its many job openings.

Back in 2015, Intel was seeking to cut costs as it remade the company in anticipation of prolonged decline in its core PC business.As former CEO Brian Krzanich put it in 2015: "We're trying to build a different company. You don't orchestrate change by doing things the same way.'"

Intel confronts a completely different problem today.

It's trying to hire hundreds of workers in Oregon and thousands across the country as it seeks to expand its manufacturing capacity. But a national labor shortage makes it tough for employers of all kinds to find workers,let alone the skilled technicians and engineers Intel needsto make its computer chips.

"A number of years have passed since the 2015/2016 restructuring and those impacted may have new and additional skills that are valuable to Intel's current business strategies," the company said in a statement to The Oregonian/OregonLive this week.

"In most instances, those impacted by the 2015/2016 restructuring in the U.S. are eligible to apply for open roles," Intel said.

Intelchanged its criteriafor determining who it laid off in 2015 and 2016, considering not just their rating in the company's annual performance reviews but also amount of company stock they received in their compensation package.

Stock grants were also linked to performance reviews, but less directly and less consistently. Those with smaller stock grants were more likely to lose their jobs - even if they'd given up the stock as part of a broader arrangement over their annual review or bonus.

As a result, some laid-off employees said they lost their jobs despite receiving solid performance ratings, then found themselves locked out of the company forever.

In the intervening years, Intel has replaced its chief executive twice. Current CEO Pat Gelsinger hascompletely reversed his predecessors' strategy- spending billions to rebuild Intel's factory and engineering capability in hopes the company can recapture the technological edge.

Privately, former employees have continued to lament the no-rehire rule. Even those who found good jobs and had no plans to return to Intel said they considered the no-rehire rule a kind of stigma.

It's not clear how many former Intel employees laid off several years ago might be open to a return now.

It is clear, though, that Intel's need for workers is acute. Last month,the company announced new training programsaimed at speeding the path for high school and community college students to begin work in Oregon's chip industry.

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