Less than a year after it announced job losses numbering in excess of 1,200, tech manufacturer Qualcomm is set to let a further 226 employees go from its facilities in San Diego.
While last year’s job cut was attributed to “uncertainty in the macroeconomic and demand environment”, the company says the latest cull is necessary in order to “prioritize and align our investments, resources, and talent”.
The news comes at the same time that rumors have begun to swirl around Qualcomm’s potential takeover of rival Intel – a company worth close to $100 billion.
Qualcomm Makes 226 Layoffs Across 16 Facilities
The news of Qualcomm’s latest round of layoffs was originally broken by The San Diego Union-Tribune (paywalled), reporting that the majority of the cuts will be inflicted on Qualcomm’s engineering department.
In total, 226 people are expected to lose their job across 16 facilities in the Californian city of San Diego – the home of the tech giant’s headquarters – with the action set to take place on November 12th this year.
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“Our leading technology and product portfolio has positioned us to execute on our diversification strategy,” said Kristin Stiles, Manager, Corporate Communications at Qualcomm.
“As part of a normal course of business, we prioritize and align our investments, resources, and talent to ensure we are optimally positioned to take advantage of the unprecedented diversification opportunities in front of us.”
Qualcomm Bringing Intel Inside
Despite Qualcomm’s concerns about demand and microeconomic factors, the company was still able to report earnings this year that exceeded expectations on Wall Street – July’s earnings call showed revenue of $9.39 billion and net income of $2.13 billion.
With such strength in the market, the UK’s Financial Times reported on Saturday that the chipmaker was now making approaches to long-time rival Intel about a possible ‘friendly’ takeover.
Qualcomm’s target is valued at around $96 billion, but has been making its own massive layoffs this year. In August Intel announced it would be cutting 15,000 employees – roughly 15% of the total workforce – citing a tougher than expected financial outlook for the company.
The takeover would, the Financial Times said, eclipse the game changing Microsoft acquisition of Activision that was finally approved by UK regulators last year and is worth $68.7 billion.
Major Tech Layoffs Continue
Qualcomm’s latest round of layoffs is just another in a long conveyer belt of tech companies making significant cuts to their staff. It’s been a savage few years for employees, with many big name tech companies making layoffs.
September alone has seen Microsoft and Gwyneth Paltrow’s wellness brand Goop make announcements about company restructuring that would spell the loss of hundreds of jobs.
Right up there with Intel as one of the biggest job cutters is computing manufacturer Dell. Last month Dell revealed it would cut 12,000 jobs to streamline the company and better embrace AI.
While elsewhere, 2024 has witnessed the likes of Google, Amazon, Twitch and Apple all wield the axe to their staff.
