Intel to trim management manpower

US chip giant Intel is cutting 1,000 management jobs as its tries to become more efficient amid stiff competition and weaker demand for personal computers, according to an Associated Press report.

The report said the reduction, which would take several days to be carried out, was the latest action in a broad restructuring announced earlier this year, according to Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy.

Analysts expected further job cuts as executives continued to scrutinize operations, the report said.

Mulloy declined to say how much money would be saved by the latest cuts or whether they would result in a charge against earnings. The company would provide more details when it reports second-quarter results, he said.

ThinkEquity Analyst Eric Ross, who recently released a report predicting Intel would reduce its work force by more than 10,000 employees, said Intel was scrambling to slash costs as smaller rival Advanced Micro Devices encroached n its highly lucrative core business of supplying the microprocessors that acted as the brains of computers, the report said.

Ross, who estimated Intel had about 100,000 employees following the sale of one of its business units last month, predicted executives would announce plans to pare another 9,000 employees in the next six months, the report said.