Qualcomm’s “performance-focused” layoffs reach India, but employees describe a broade
Qualcomm’s global workforce reduction has reached India, where employees say they were selected for dismissal despite strong performance reviews and, in some cases, pending promotions. The accounts are raising questions about the company’s description of the cuts as performance-driven, with reports suggesting that business priorities and changes in the skills it needs are also shaping decisions.
The first reported round of layoffs began at Qualcomm’s Bengaluru and Hyderabad operations on November 9, according to Indian media reports. The restructuring could affect more than 1,000 employees across the country, or around 5% to 6% of Qualcomm’s estimated 20,000-strong Indian workforce. The company has not confirmed the number of positions being eliminated, and estimates in local media reports range from approximately 600 to 1,200.
The impact of the global restructuring on Qualcomm’s Israeli operations also remains unclear. The company has two R&D centers in Israel, in Haifa and Hod Hasharon, and has expanded its local presence through acquisitions including Autotalks, Alphawave’s Israeli operations and cybersecurity company SAM. Qualcomm has not disclosed whether any Israeli employees will be laid off or how many positions could be at risk.
The accounts emerging from affected employees suggest that the selection process is not limited to workers with poor performance records. One Qualcomm employee who posted on Reddit said they had joined the company in Bengaluru four years ago and had received performance ratings of 3, 4 and 4 over their last three annual reviews. Despite expecting a promotion from Engineer to Senior Engineer, the employee said they had been informed that they were being laid off.
Another employee, who identified themselves as a senior ASIC design verification engineer, said they had worked at Qualcomm for nearly seven years before being dismissed on November 9. Other posts describe employees being told that their positions were being eliminated because of business requirements rather than individual performance.
The accounts are difficult to independently verify, and Qualcomm has not publicly confirmed the circumstances surrounding individual dismissals. But they echo a concern that had surfaced among employees even before the India layoffs began.
When CEO Cristiano Amon announced the global reduction in an internal memo on October 19, he described it as a “performance-focused reduction” following the company’s annual employee review process. Amon said the company wanted to strengthen its performance culture and address situations in which employees had consistently fallen short of expectations.
Yet the memo also made clear that performance was not the only consideration. Amon said decisions would take into account business priorities, organizational needs, and the skills and expertise Qualcomm requires as its business expands.
That broader definition was also reflected in a reported internal FAQ circulated to employees. A discussion on Qualcomm’s Reddit forum in October highlighted a section asking why an employee with a strong performance rating might still be affected. According to the post, the company’s explanation was that decisions would also depend on business priorities, organizational needs, skills and expertise.
The India cuts are reportedly affecting experienced engineers as well as more recent hires. Moneycontrol reported that the process could extend beyond Bengaluru and Hyderabad to Qualcomm’s engineering and research facilities in Delhi-NCR and Chennai. The publication also reported potential reductions across teams working on radio frequency, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and satellite navigation technologies, although the scope of the cuts in individual teams remains unclear.
Qualcomm has reportedly offered affected employees severance packages that vary according to tenure. Accounts shared online describe several months of salary, additional compensation linked to years of service and, in some cases, an extra month’s pay for employees who sign their exit documents within a short deadline. The company has not publicly confirmed the terms, and the packages described by employees should not be treated as a universal offer.
The restructuring comes as Qualcomm tries to reduce its dependence on the smartphone market and build new sources of growth in data-center chips, automotive technology and other businesses. The pressure on its core handset operation has become increasingly visible. In its latest quarterly results, Qualcomm reported that handset revenue fell 26% year-on-year to $5.14 billion, while revenue from its chip business declined 8%.
The company is betting that expansion into data centers and other non-handset markets will eventually offset some of that pressure. Amon told employees that Qualcomm’s changing business required different competencies and skills, adding that the company needed to put the right people in the right roles.
The layoffs also follow a year in which Qualcomm’s overall workforce expanded. The company reported approximately 57,000 full-time, part-time and temporary employees at the end of September, up from approximately 52,000 a year earlier.
The latest cuts also follow a substantial increase in Qualcomm’s restructuring expenses. As previously reported by CTech, the company recorded $332 million in restructuring and related charges in fiscal 2026, more than eight times the $39 million reported a year earlier. Substantially all of the charges were tied to severance. Those expenses were recorded before the latest global reduction announced in October and should not be confused with the cost of the current round of layoffs.
Source: www.calcalistech.com