They have been putting record funding into R&D for years, but it seems that simply throwing money at the problem isn't helping, so it makes sense that they would try something different.
Their press statement essentially R&D is too bloated, dysfunctional, and disorganized in the current state to produce.
Throwing money at any problem is ineffective by itself. Still throwing money at a problem is a prerequisite to get stuff solved. It may very well be true that Intel R&D teams are too bloated, dysfunctional and disorganized. But that is not solved with throwing less money at it. If anything doing that and nothing else just leaves with less teams that are too bloated, dysfunctional and disorganized.
Their R&D spend is 4x that of TSMC and 2X that of Nvidia.
If they cut 20%, they will still have an obscene budget.
If you read the press release the idea is to focus on their core competencies, like making good processors. That means laying off people that can't help with that goal.
Their press statement essentially R&D is too bloated, dysfunctional, and disorganized in the current state to produce.