• Intel's revenue forecast below Wall Street estimates amid trade war concerns

• Tariff fears led to chip stockpiling, impacting Intel's second-quarter outlook

• Intel plans cost cuts, reducing operating expenses and capital expenditures targets

• Shares down sharply in after-hours trading

April 24 (Reuters) - Intel INTC.O forecast second-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates on Thursday, casting a shadow over new CEO Lip-Bu Tan's first round of earnings at the helm, against the backdrop of a raging Sino-U.S. trade war.

Intel shares were down 5% in extended trading.

The dour outlook from Intel could be another source of pessimism for investors who are counting on Tan to turn the chipmaker around after years of missteps have left it struggling to gain a foothold in the booming AI market.

The Santa Clara, California-based company expects revenue of $11.2 billion to $12.4 billion for the June quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of $12.82 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Fears around tariffs pushed customers to stockpile Intel chips, which boosted sales in the first quarter, CFO David Zinsner said. The company was not able to determine the amount of the benefit, and it expects the second quarter to suffer as a result.

"Our guidance this quarter, in the second quarter, is a reflection of this uncertainty caused by tariffs," the finance chief said.

Amid Tan's attempts to streamline the company and cut costs, Intel also said it is reducing its adjusted operating expense target to approximately $17 billion in 2025, down from its previously stated goal of $17.5 billion, and is now targeting $16 billion in 2026.

"There's a lot of Intel bureaucracy that has been built up over time," Zinsner told Reuters. "He wants to cut through all of that to make engineers more successful and allow them to more quickly bring out products. We've got to go through all of that."

Tan told investors on a conference call that Intel is examining its factory footprint. The company said in February that it was pushing back a $28 billion factory project in Ohio until 2030.

"We will continue to take a closer look at our existing factory footprint to ensure that we are making the most efficient use of our in-store capacity before committing to any additional spending," Tan said on Thursday.

CFO Zinsner said the possible impact of restructuring plans on employee head count was still uncertain, but that clarity would emerge when the company reports second-quarter results.

In a memo to employees published publicly ahead of his first conference call with analysts as CEO, Tan wrote that layoffs would begin in the second quarter and that such changes would focus on reducing the company's internal bureaucracy. Tan also plans to slash the number and size of internal meetings.

""There is no way around the fact that these critical changes will reduce the size of our workforce," Tan wrote. "As I said when I joined, we need to make some very hard decisions to put our company on a solid footing for the future."

Beginning on September 1, Intel will require employees to return to the office four days a week, Tan's memo said.

The company also reduced its gross capital expenditures target to $18 billion for 2025, down from the company's previous target of $20 billion.

"Intel is taking actions to drive better, more efficient execution across the business. The plan includes streamlining the organization, eliminating management layers," the company said in a statement.

While U.S. President Donald Trump has for now spared chips from tariffs, Beijing's high retaliatory levies on U.S.-made semiconductors cloud the outlook for Intel's sales to China, typically its largest market.

Chips manufactured in the U.S. are set to face levies of 85% or higher, based on the state-backed China Semiconductor Industry Association's notice earlier in April.

China imports $10 billion worth of chips from the United States annually. About $8 billion of these are central processing units (CPUs) assembled by Intel in the U.S., according to Bernstein analysts.

Intel's first-quarter revenue was flat at $12.67 billion. The results beat estimates of $12.30 billion.

The company expects second-quarter per-share adjusted profit to break even, compared with estimates of profit of 6 cents per share.

"The cautious (second quarter) outlook incorporates tariff uncertainties coupled with the competitive environment in both the PC client and the datacenter markets," Summit Insights analyst Kinngai Chan said.

Intel's drive to become a contract manufacturer of chips, a strategy championed by Tan's predecessor, Pat Gelsinger, has strained the company's finances as it pours billions of dollars into setting up advanced manufacturing facilities.