Qualcomm is reportedly planning to lay off some of its employees globally. According to a Reuters report, the job cuts are part of a “performance-focused reduction” following the annual employee reviews. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon has sent a memo to the staff, informing them of notifications beginning in November. As stated in the report, CEO Amon said in the memo that the job cuts are part of an effort to build “a stronger performance culture” and address situations where the company “has consistently fallen short of expectations”.Qualcomm has about 52,000 employees globally as of September last year. The memo, however, did not reveal the number of employees that will be affected by the layoffs.Amon said the job cuts would be based on the company’s business priorities, organisational needs, and the skills and expertise required.“As we have expanded the business, so have the competencies and skills we require,” Critiano Amon wrote. “We must have the right people in the right roles so they can perform at their best and the company can continue to succeed.”
Impact of rising memory price
Qualcomm is one of the world’s biggest smartphone chipmakers. It has been hit this year by a slump in consumer electronics sales as rising memory prices impacted demand in key markets. The company’s shares have risen just 1.5% in 2026, compared with gains of more than 12% for the benchmark S&P 500 and nearly 60% for the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.Qualcomm released its latest earnings report earlier this year in July. The company then forecasted quarterly profit below estimates and said revenue from Apple products would decline faster than expected. However, it then signalled that growth in data-center and other non-handset businesses would more than offset the lost revenue by fiscal 2027. The company expects most of its chip sales to come from industries outside smartphones in fiscal 2027 as it expands into the fast-growing AI data centre market.
