SAN FRANCISCO: US chip giant Intel said on Friday it will trim its workforce by five per cent this year as it shifts from personal computers to powering mobile gadgets.

Word of the job cuts came a day after Intel reported that its net profit last year sank 13pc but that the troubled personal computer market appeared to be stabilising.

Intel shares remained around the closing price of $25.85 in after-market trades.

“We do expect employment to come down by about 5pc by the end of the year,” Intel spokesman Chris Kraeuter told AFP.

“It is something we regularly do to make sure that the people we have match up with our priorities.”

Kraeuter said that California-based Intel ended last year with 107,600 workers. He declined to disclose which positions or locations would be targeted for cuts.

Intel reported on Thursday that it made a net profit of $9.6 billion on revenue of $52.7bn last year as compared with $11bn in net profit on $53.3bn in revenue in 2012.

“We had a solid fourth quarter with signs of stabilisation in the PC segment and financial growth from a year ago,” said Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich.

In the final quarter of the year, Intel posted profit of $2.6bn on revenue of $13.8bn as compared with $2.5bn net income on $13.5bn in revenue during the same period in 2012.

“We’ve built a strong foundation for our business by bringing innovation to the market more quickly across a wide range of computing platforms,” said Krzanich.