Overview
- CEO Cristiano Amon told staff in an internal memo on Monday that Qualcomm will begin notifying employees of a global, “performance-focused reduction” starting in November.
- The memo did not disclose the number of roles to be eliminated and said cuts will follow annual reviews with decisions based on business priorities, organizational needs and employees’ skills.
- Company filings and recent guidance show weaker smartphone and consumer-electronics demand plus rising memory costs have pressured handset revenue and prompted below-estimate profit forecasts and faster declines in Apple-related sales.
- Qualcomm is shifting resources toward AI data-center, automotive and other non-handset markets and expects non-smartphone chip sales to be the majority by fiscal 2027.
- Qualcomm reported about 52,000 employees last year so November notifications could affect many workers worldwide and may accelerate short-term cost reductions while the firm attempts to rebuild growth in higher-margin, non-handset businesses.