San Francisco, Jan 31 (IANS): Calling it "difficult decisions,' chip-maker Intel is laying off nearly 340 employees at one of its campuses in the US.

Intel told state and local officials that it plans to lay off about 340 workers at its Folsom campus in California, reports KCRA 3. The Folsom campus has seven buildings.

The company cited a "challenging macro-economic environment", saying it is "focused on identifying cost reductions and efficiency gains through multiple initiatives, including some business and function-specific workforce reductions in areas across the company".

"These are difficult decisions, and we are committed to treating impacted employees with dignity and respect," Intel said in a statement.

The company announced new layoffs in the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice.

The WARN Act requires employers to provide a 60-day notice to workers and state officials of mass layoffs.

The company first sent a WARN Act notice on December 2 that it planned to "lay off about 111 workers at its 1900 Prairie City Drive facility starting on January 31".

On January 11, the company said in an update it had raised that number to 176.

On January 13, Intel announced another round of layoffs that affected 167 workers and that those are "expected to be permanent."

"All impacted employees are being notified of separation with at least 60 days' notice, with the first separations presently scheduled to occur during a 14-day period commencing on March 15, 2023," the notice read.

Reports surfaced earlier this month that Intel is making deeper job cuts that will hit at least hundreds of employees in the Bay Area and nearby places in the US.

According to an official filing posted by the state Employment Development Department, the company had listed the elimination of about 201 jobs in Santa Clara by January 31.

In total, the chip giant plans to cut 500 jobs in California.