San Jose, Calif. ? Intel Corp., the chip-making giant that has managed to avoid mass layoffs during the technology downturn, said Tuesday it is cutting 4,000 jobs, or nearly 5 percent of its work force.

The move came after the Silicon Valley company posted lower-than-expected second-quarter earnings.

Intel attributed the job cuts to weak demand for the chips that power personal computers.

“We haven’t seen an economic recovery in our business yet,” said Andy Bryant, chief financial officer. “We want to be cautious in our spending.”

Most of the cuts will be made through attrition, Bryant said.

The world’s largest semiconductor company had 83,000 employees worldwide at the end of the first quarter, down from 86,000 at the end of 2000.

For the three months ended June 29, Intel reported profits of $446 million, or 7 cents a share. Analysts were expecting 11 cents per share.

Intel closed down 76 cents, or nearly 4 percent, at $18.36 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.