Chip maker Intersil plans to cut approximately 10 percent of its workforce. However, the company said it will not only leave its product development division intact, but will expand the design and development team over the next few quarters. Intersil, a Milpitas, Calif., company that develops and manufactures high-performance analog, mixed signal and power management integrated circuits, is cutting approximately 150 workers. Most of the layoffs are expected to be in manufacturing, sales and administration, the company said. As of December, Intersil had 1,488 full-time and part-time employees worldwide, according to its annual report. More than 650 worked in research and development. With the layoffs, Intersil is attempting to “rebalance” its resources by reducing expenses in manufacturing and sales so it can increase them in product development. Says Intersil: “The initiative is specifically designed to create long-term structural changes that will enable incremental investments in product development, while remaining approximately within the current overall operating expense run rate.” When it comes to hiring, the chip industry is a mixed bag. Overall, semiconductor jobs increased ever so slightly in June, to 380,600, up about 0.5 percent from May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Year-on-year, the sector’s job count shrank by 1.2 percent. Meanwhile, industry titan Intel is planning a hiring slowdown after lowering its revenue forecasts for the year. Like Intersil, the company plans to make strategic hires as it adjusts its strategy.