Qualcomm will layoff 1,258 workers in San Diego and Santa Clara, beginning in December
Pointing to the ongoing poor sales performance of its phone chips, Qualcomm notified the California Employment Development Department that it plans to cut 1,258 positions in San Diego and Santa Clara, California, beginning in December.
About 1,064 of its these employees will be culled from San Diego, while the remaining 194 will be in Santa Clara. According to the company’s more recent annual report, it currently employs 51,000 people as of September 2022.
The news isn’t entirely shocking as Qualcomm warned of possible layoffs in August in a filing that discussed “continued uncertainty in the macroeconomic and demand environment.”
Specifically, Qualcomm reported a Q3 2023 total revenue dip of 23% from the same quarter last year to $8.45 billion with handset revenue down 25% and IoT revenue down 24%. As a result, CFO Akash Palkhiwala said on an earnings call that the company is implementing “additional cost actions in the first half of fiscal 2024.” Part of these actions, it appears, are workforce reductions.
In response its soft third quarter, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said the company is focusing on its booming automotive business, which during the quarter in question, continued to be a growth driver with a 13% year-over-year increase to $434 million, as well as the developing opportunity around artificial intelligence (AI).
