Qualcomm lays out layoffs after annual reviews, citing employees who “fell short”
A memo from the CEO says the cuts will address situations where the company “has consistently fallen short of expectations.”
Qualcomm will cut jobs globally in what it calls a "performance-focused reduction," CEO Cristiano Amon told staff in a memo on Monday. Employees will be notified starting in November.
The cuts follow the company's annual employee reviews. Amon described them as part of an effort to build "a stronger performance culture" and to address situations where the company "has consistently fallen short of expectations."
The memo did not say how many jobs would be affected. Qualcomm did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company had about 52,000 employees as of September last year, most of them full-time.
Amon said business priorities, organizational needs, skills and expertise would all be considered. "As we have expanded the business, so have the competencies and skills we require," he 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."
Qualcomm is one of the world's biggest smartphone chipmakers, and it has been hit this year by a slump in consumer electronics sales, as soaring memory prices weigh on demand in key markets. Its shares have risen just 1.5% in 2026, against gains of more than 12% for the S&P 500 and nearly 60% for the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
In its latest earnings report in late July, Qualcomm forecast quarterly profit below estimates and said revenue from Apple products would decline faster than expected. It also signaled 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 that year to come from businesses other than smartphones as it expands into the AI data-center market.
Qualcomm has a sizable Israeli operation, and it is not yet known whether the cuts will reach it. The company has not said where the reductions will fall.
CTech reported in January 2023 that Qualcomm employed 700 people in Israel when it cut dozens of local jobs. In May 2023, it laid off about 30 employees in Israel, about 5% of its local workforce, in a series of cutbacks.
Since then, the company has expanded in Israel through acquisitions. In June 2025 it bought chipmaker Autotalks, bringing in about 100 employees. CTech reported at the time that the company, once seen as a $400 million prospect, sold for less than $100 million. Days later, Qualcomm's $2.4 billion purchase of British chipmaker Alphawave added nearly 90 employees in Israel. In July, it acquired Israeli cybersecurity company SAM for more than $150 million. SAM employs about 80 people across Israel and the United States.
