AMD shake-up may be harbinger of major restructuring

"I do think there will be a major change in their manufacturing strategy," said Jim McGregor, an analyst with In-Stat. "Something is going on with their fabs. How they'll work it, I don't know."

Both McGregor and Rob Enderle, president of the Enderle Group, said it would be difficult for AMD to get rid of the fabs completely. The company's license agreement with rival Intel Corp. mandates that AMD run fab facilities, they noted. And in some cases, local governments have provided tax incentives for running fab plants.

"AMD is clearly looking at its manufacturing costs and realizing they need to reduce them," said Enderle. "We may see some fab consolidation but I don't see them going fabless. I just don't see how they could do it. Speculation is running along the lines of something dramatic."

Dan Olds, an analyst with the Gabriel Consulting Group, said whatever move AMD is making he's simply glad they're taking action.

"It's hard to tell from the outside looking in if these are the right moves or not, but AMD clearly has to shake things up in order to get back on track," added Olds. "It's a good thing. It shows they recognize problems and are taking action. However, this won't lessen the pressure to perform, but [it's] absolutely a good thing."

(Agam Shah of IDG News Service contributed to this story.)