SAN JOSE, Calif. — As part of its major cost-cutting efforts, Intel Corp. could delay a pair of new 300-mm fab projects in Europe and the United States, according to online reports.

In addition, the chip giant has also implemented a voluntary separation program for select employees worldwide, according to reports.

As reported last week, embattled Intel is expected to announce major layoffs on Tuesday (Sept. 5), although estimates of how many workers will be cut are all over the map.

Intel is expected to cut as many as 15,000 workers as part of a major "overhaul" at the company. The chip giant has about 100,000 employees worldwide.

Over the weekend, there have been various news reports that describe Intel's cost-cutting efforts. According to a report from Israel's Globes, Intel "is likely to fire hundreds of its 6,500 employees in Israel, and it may not stop there."

Citing Raymond James Equity Capital Markets analyst Ashok Kumar, the report from Globes also claims that Intel will "defer planned investments in new fabs, including those in Arizona and Kiryat Gat."

The details were not given in the reports, but some fab projects could get delayed in Arizona and Israel. Last year, Intel announced it plans to build a chip making facility for ICs on 300-mm diameter wafers at its site in Kiryat Gat, Israel. Intel said construction of Fab 28, Intel's second 45-nm factory, would be able to produce microprocessors on 45-nm manufacturing processes in the second half of 2008.

In July of 2005, Intel also announced plans to invest more than $3 billion to build another 300-mm fab, dubbed Fab 32 in Chandler, Arizona.

Besides the fab projects, Intel's Malaysian unit is also expected to be downsized in its second and so-called "voluntary separation scheme (VSS)," according to The Star in Malaysia.

In July, Intel implemented its first VSS. This impacted about 1,000 workers worldwide, including some 200 in Malaysia, according to the report.

The second VSS, to be announced Sept. 5, could involve between 1,000 and 2,000 employees in Malaysia, according to the report. "In Malaysia, Intel has over 6,500 workers in Penang, about 3,500 in Kulim, and about 200 in Cyberjaya," the report said.