Aug 7 (Reuters) -

Intel ( INTC ) was sued on Wednesday by shareholders who

said the Silicon Valley chipmaker fraudulently concealed

problems that led it to post weak results, slash jobs and

suspend its dividend, and caused its market value to sink more

than $32 billion in a single day.

The proposed class action against Intel ( INTC ), Chief Executive

Patrick Gelsinger and Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner was

filed in San Francisco federal court.

Shareholders said they were blindsided when Intel ( INTC )

revealed on Aug. 1 that its so-called foundry business for

making chips on contract for outsiders was in their words

"floundering," costing billions of dollars extra even as revenue

declined.

They said the Santa Clara, California-based company's

materially false or misleading statements regarding the business

and its manufacturing capabilities inflated its stock price from

Jan. 25 to Aug. 1.

Intel ( INTC ) had no immediate comment.

The lawsuit came after Intel ( INTC ) said last Thursday it would

lay off

more than 15% of its workforce, or more than 15,000 jobs,

and suspend its dividend starting in the fourth quarter as part

of a restructuring meant to save $10 billion in 2025.

Intel ( INTC ) also posted a $1.61 billion second-quarter

net loss

, as revenue fell 1% to $12.83 billion.

The company has struggled to fend off competition from

rival chipmakers and benefit from growth in artificial

intelligence.

Among its rivals are Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ),

Nvidia NVDA.O>, Samsung Electronics ( SSNLF ) and Taiwan's

TSMC.

Intel's ( INTC ) share price tumbled 26% to $21.48 on Aug. 2, the

day after it announced quarterly results, the job cuts and the

dividend suspension.

The shares closed Wednesday down 3.6% at $18.99 and have

fallen 34.6% since the announcement.

The case is Construction Laborers Pension Trust of

Greater St. Louis v Intel Corp ( INTC ), U.S. District Court, Northern

District of California, No. 24-04807.