The funny thing is that most people who were let go during the last cycle are not the liwest performing 10%.
Usually the lowest performing 10% people know how to hide it pretty well and are in good terms with their managers, as they din't have any other choice.
I believe most of the ISPed people were at the 50% percentile, being solid contributors who didn't play the political game. The VSP people were at the 75% percentile and above, who believe they will find another job easily and don't believ in Intel's future.
As a result, Intel now stays with the lower performing percentiles and the highest performing percentiles, under the same management.
Looks like a 2nd round of ISPs will come fast as it will be easier to observe the lowest performing people cannot cope with real work when the people who actually worked are gone.