Things have not gone easy for the chipmaker over the last year and more than one observer refers to his leaving as "fallout" from Intel's "corporate pyramid". Another media outlet said that "Intel's executive ranks have been in near continuous flux since 2015," with seven other executives leaving the high-tech firm. Perhaps Smith didn't agree with the direction the company is going in. Intel's current CFO Bob Swan has publicly discussed layoffs after referring to the company as being "bloated" with too many "layers of people." Swan reportedly plans to make reductions. Perhaps Smith didn't want to be part of the blood-letting.