Qualcomm begins India layoffs, 1,000 jobs at risk

People familiar with the matter said the global restructuring could affect around 7% of Qualcomm’s 52,000-strong workforce. With approximately 20,000 employees in India, the country could account for around 1,000 job losses or slightly more, based on a similar proportion. “At a similar ratio, layoffs in India can be estimated at around 1,000 employees or a little higher than that,” Pareekh Jain, CEO and lead analyst at EIIRTrend, told FE. Another round of job cuts is expected in January, analysts said.

The layoffs are significant given the scale of Qualcomm’s engineering and research operations in India, which constitute its largest engineering base outside the US. The company has major R&D and engineering facilities in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi NCR and Chennai. The current exercise is understood to be broad-based, affecting both senior engineers and recent hires. Some employees who have been asked to leave have reportedly said they received no prior performance feedback, despite the company describing the exercise as performance-driven.

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon had informed employees about the restructuring in an internal memo in October, describing it as a performance-focused reduction. According to a Reuters report, Amon said the workforce reduction would take place in November, following the company’s annual employee reviews, as part of efforts to build a stronger performance culture. The company has not officially commented on the India layoffs. A mail sent to the company did not elicit a response till the time of going to the press.

Employees affected by the cuts have reportedly been offered severance equivalent to three months’ pay, linked to their tenure. Those signing their relieving documents within three days have been offered an additional month’s salary.