In a move likely to raise a few taxpayer eyebrows, Intel said today that it will cut 15 percent of its workforce, or more than 15,000 jobs, as it struggles to rebound from disappointing results. In March, the US government said it would give Intel no less than $8.5 billion to help it rebuild its US chipmaking operations…

The money Intel received in March is the biggest grant awarded by the US government so far through the CHIPS Act, 2022 legislation passed that will appropriated $52.7 billion to reshore chip manufacturing and invest in chip research and workforce training. The company will also receive tax credits of up to 25 percent on $100 billion in investments and will be eligible for federal loans of up to $11 billion.

Maybe these layoffs make business sense and will help Intel become the powerhouse it once was. But the company’s new government-dependent status means all of its decision-making will be heavily politicized, and it wouldn’t surprise us if the company’s reorganization ends up focused more on maximizing taxpayers’ dollars than creating value for customers.