Qualcomm to Cut Jobs Globally, Reuters Reports

Qualcomm will cut jobs around the world in what its chief executive called a “performance-focused reduction”, according to Reuters, which reviewed an internal memo. Cristiano Amon told staff on Monday 19 October that the cuts would follow the company’s annual employee reviews, with notifications due to begin in November, the news agency reported.

The memo did not say how many jobs would go. Reuters said it “could not immediately determine the scale of the cuts”, and Qualcomm did not immediately respond to its request for comment. What the report does show is a chipmaker reshaping its workforce as it tries to shift its business away from smartphones.

In brief

Qualcomm plans global job cuts after annual staff reviews, with notifications from November, according to a CEO memo seen by Reuters.
The cuts come as Qualcomm pushes into AI data centres and other markets beyond phones, which it expects to provide most chip sales in fiscal 2027.
No headcount was given, and Qualcomm has not commented.

What did the memo say?

According to Reuters, Amon framed the cuts as part of building “a stronger performance culture”. He said they would address situations where the company “has consistently fallen short of expectations”.

Reuters reported that the memo listed business priorities, organisational needs, skills and expertise as factors in deciding who would be affected. “As we have expanded the business, so have the competencies and skills we require,” Amon wrote, according to Reuters. “We must have the right people in the right roles so they can perform at their best and the company can continue to succeed.”

What the memo covers	What it does not
Cuts are global	How many jobs
Based on annual reviews	Which countries or teams
Notices from November	Any cost savings

Source: Reuters, 20 October 2026, citing Qualcomm’s internal memo.

How big is Qualcomm’s workforce?

Reuters put Qualcomm’s headcount at about 52,000 employees globally as of September last year, most of them full-time. With no figure in the memo, it is not possible to say what share of that workforce the cuts will touch.

Qualcomm’s financial year usually ends in late September, Reuters noted.

Why is Qualcomm reshaping now?

Qualcomm is one of the world’s biggest smartphone chipmakers, and Reuters said it has been hit this year by a slump in consumer electronics sales, as soaring memory prices weigh on demand in key markets.

In its latest results in late July, the company forecast quarterly profit below estimates and said revenue from Apple products would fall faster than expected, Reuters reported. At the same time, Qualcomm said growth in data centres and other non-phone businesses would more than offset that lost revenue by fiscal 2027.

The company expects most of its chip sales in fiscal 2027 to come from businesses other than smartphones as it expands into the AI data-centre market, according to Reuters.

Qualcomm has also been in court over its chip designs. Earlier this month, a Delaware jury found that Arm had breached its licence with Qualcomm but awarded it just $2 in nominal damages, as TSN reported.

Our read

This is TSN’s analysis. Framing cuts as performance-based lets a company trim staff without announcing a formal restructuring, and without a number, this is hard to size. The clearer signal is Amon’s point that the skills Qualcomm needs have changed as the business expanded, at the same time as it bets on data centres. The next thing to watch is whether Qualcomm puts a number on the cuts.