Intel CEO Tells Employees to End Production Snags

Intel Corp. Chief Executive Craig Barrett has called on employees to focus on “actions and attitudes” to halt a string of product delays and manufacturing problems that have frustrated the chip maker.

In an open letter sent last week to the company’s 80,000 workers, Barrett said that there was no excuse for the recent problems and that he had spoken bluntly and directly with senior managers about the need to improve performance.

“In the end, reasons don’t matter because the result is less-satisfied customers and a less-successful Intel,” Barrett wrote in his letter dated July 21.

“Therefore,” he wrote, “it is critical that everyone -- beginning with senior management but extending to all of you -- focus intensely on actions and attitudes that will continue Intel’s strong track record of technology leadership” and customer satisfaction.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel is the world’s largest chip maker, providing the key chips for most personal computers. It also supplies chips for cellphones and networking equipment.

For a company with a renowned culture of engineering prowess, Intel has faced an especially bumpy year.

In January, Intel delayed the rollout of a line of microprocessors for notebook computers for a few months after finding problems with the chips.

In June, Intel said it was recalling a much-hyped chip called Grantsdale, which offered new features for desktop computers, after finding a flaw that could lead computers to malfunction. That recall cost Intel $38 million.

And last week, Intel acknowledged that it was delaying the launch of a chip that it had called “the linchpin” in its new line of chips for notebook computers. Barrett wants the snags to stop.

“It has almost his entire attention and focus,” Intel spokesman Tom Beermann said.