Pat Gelsinger, CEO of semiconductor giant Intel, has unexpectedly announced his resignation effective December 1. Until a successor is appointed, the company's management will be temporarily taken over by CFO David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, head of several Intel divisions. The news caused Intel's stock to rise by almost four percent.

According to reports, Intel's board of directors is said to have pressured Gelsinger to resign due to dwindling confidence in his recovery strategy. According to insiders, the conflict escalated when Gelsinger wanted to present progress in recapturing market share last week. The board gave him an ultimatum: retirement or dismissal.

Gelsinger, who returned in 2021 as a beacon of hope, left the company amidst difficulties. Alongside new technologies and a cost-cutting plan, he planned the reduction of around 15,000 jobs and a two-year delay in the construction of the chip factory in Magdeburg.

Intel has been struggling with growing challenges for years. In the field of artificial intelligence, NVIDIA has taken the lead, while the business with PC processors and chips for data centers is under strong competitive pressure. The market dominance that Intel once enjoyed has increasingly eroded.

The company's shares are currently trading at $24.85, an increase of 3.31 percent, but with an annual loss of around 50 percent. Since the high in April 2021, the losses have totaled almost two-thirds.