Qualcomm begins India layoffs, around 1,000 jobs potentially at risk: Report

Qualcomm has begun laying off employees in India as part of a global workforce restructuring that could put around 1,000 or more jobs at risk in the country, the Financial Express reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The first round of layoffs began at the US chipmaker's Bengaluru facility on Monday, days after it initiated job cuts in the United States.

The exercise is expected to be carried out in phases across its operations in India, the newspaper reported.

Qualcomm employs around 52,000 people globally, including approximately 20,000 in India.

The global restructuring could affect around 7% of its workforce, the Financial Express reported.

With about 20,000 employees in India, the country could see around 1,000 or slightly more job losses, it said, citing Pareekh Jain, CEO and lead analyst at EIIRTrend.

"At a similar ratio, layoffs in India can be estimated at around 1,000 employees or a little higher than that," Jain told the Financial Express.

Another round of job cuts is expected in January, the newspaper reported, citing analysts.

The layoffs are expected to affect Qualcomm's engineering and research operations in India, its largest such base outside the United States.

The company has facilities in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi-NCR and Chennai.

Some employees asked to leave have reportedly said they had not received prior performance-related feedback, despite the company describing the restructuring as performance-driven.

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon had informed employees about the restructuring in an internal memo in October. According to a Reuters report, Amon said the cuts would take place in November, following the company's annual employee reviews, as part of efforts to build a stronger performance culture.

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

The restructuring comes as Qualcomm faces a less favourable outlook for its smartphone chip business.

The revenue from handset sales fell 26% year-on-year to $5.14 billion in the fourth quarter ended September 27.

Qualcomm's handset business accounted for about 57% of its fourth-quarter revenue.

Revenue from the segment fell 13% to $24.07 billion in fiscal 2026, while total annual revenue declined 3% to $43.12 billion.

Revenue from its automotive business rose 89% to $1.99 billion in the fourth quarter, while internet of things (IoT) revenue increased 4% to $1.89 billion.

Qualcomm expects revenue from non-handset businesses to grow more than 60% in fiscal 2027 and has reiterated its target of generating $5 billion in data-centre revenue during the year, Amon said in the earnings release.