Qualcomm has told employees it will cut jobs worldwide after its annual performance reviews, and it expects to begin informing affected employees in November. According to a Reuters report, CEO Cristiano Amon framed the move as a “performance-focused reduction” intended to build a “stronger performance culture,” stating that the company will consider organizational needs, business priorities, and employees’ skills and expertise when determining affected positions.

“The reduction will address employees who have consistently fallen short of expectations,” said Amon. The memo did not specify which departments would be affected or how many jobs would be cut. The company had roughly 52,000 employees at the end of its 2025 fiscal year, typically in late September.

Qualcomm, one of the world’s largest smartphone chip manufacturers with customers including Apple, Xiaomi, and Samsung, has been hit by an industry-wide decline in consumer electronics sales as rising memory costs reduce demand. Its shares have risen just 1.5% in 2026, compared to gains of almost 60% for the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

As a result, Qualcomm is strategically pivoting to AI infrastructure and edge computing, following a broadening trend across the semiconductor industry. The company unveiled its AI200 and AI250 AI inference accelerators in October 2025. After its latest earnings report projected lower quarterly profits than initially estimated, the company said that growth in its data center business would offset any lost revenue by fiscal year 2027.

Qualcomm’s layoff decision comes as it tries to position itself for future growth. While mobile chips remain its core business, its best future opportunities might lie in data center silicon, automotive platforms, personal computing, and edge computing, and all those fields require specialized engineering talent.

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