Qualcomm, San Diego’s largest technology company, is laying off 1,064 employees in San Diego as part of a previously announced plan to cut costs in the coming year.
The global chipmaker — whose technology powers smartphones, laptops, virtual reality headsets and next-generation cars — filed paperwork with the state Wednesday outlining the local workforce reductions and which positions were eliminated.
This story is for subscribers
We offer subscribers exclusive access to our best journalism.
Thank you for your support.
In response to the Union-Tribune’s questions about the job cuts, a Qualcomm spokesperson cited the previous announcement of workforce reductions in its most recent financial filings. At the time, the company cited “uncertainty in the macroeconomic and demand environment” as the drivers of future cost saving measures.
In Qualcomm’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) filing with the state, it says the job cuts will take effect around mid-December. The layoffs affect people at 20 San Diego facilities including its headquarters, but no plants will be closed according to the WARN notice.
The job reductions hit a variety of positions in accounting, IT, human resources, legal and technical roles as well as some director and vice president-level roles. The deepest cuts in San Diego were made among engineering roles, impacting more than 600 people.
Qualcomm employs approximately 12,000 people in San Diego and has a global workforce of more than 51,000 people as of Sept. 25, 2022. This is Qualcomm’s largest local layoff in recent months; the firm previously cut a combined 647 jobs in three smaller rounds of layoffs since December.
Those job cuts resulted from a global slump in smartphone sales. In Qualcomm’s most recent quarter, it projected that phone sales would be down compared to last year. The company cited tougher economic conditions this year and a slower financial recovery in China, a major market for smartphones powered by Qualcomm chips.
During Qualcomm’s August earnings call, chief financial officer Akash Palkhiwala said that the company’s revenue growth next fiscal year hinges heavily on the “macroeconomic environment, global handset units, and China recovery.”
“Since it remains difficult to predict the timing of a sustained recovery and customers remain cautious with purchases, we continue to operate under the assumption that inventory drawdown dynamics will be a factor through the end of the calendar year,” Palkhiwala said during the earnings call.
In addition to this week’s job cuts in San Diego, Qualcomm reported in a WARN notice that it will be reducing its headcount by 194 people at six Santa Clara offices. Qualcomm declined to confirm whether there have been other workforce reductions at other locations as part of the latest cost-cutting effort.
