An internal memo links the cuts to annual reviews as the chipmaker shifts its business toward AI data centers
Qualcomm will carry out global layoffs once its annual performance reviews wrap up, with notifications set to begin in November 2026, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters.
Cristiano Amon, CEO of San Diego-based Qualcomm, told staff in a memo on Monday that the chipmaker is planning a “performance-focused reduction.” The memo didn’t say how many jobs would go, and Reuters said it couldn’t immediately determine the scale. Qualcomm didn’t immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Qualcomm had approximately 52,000 full-time, part-time and temporary workers at the end of its fiscal year in September 2025, nearly all of them full-time employees, according to its annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
What the Qualcomm memo says about performance
Amon described the cuts as part of an effort to build “a stronger performance culture” and to address situations where the company “has consistently fallen short of expectations,” Reuters reported. Review results won’t be the only filter. Business priorities, organizational needs, skills and expertise will also be weighed, Amon said.
“As we have expanded the business, so have the competencies and skills we require,” Amon wrote. “We must have the right people in the right roles so they can perform at their best and the company can continue to succeed.”
Performance-based layoffs lean at least in part on review outcomes to decide who leaves, rather than shutting down whole teams or functions. Adding skills and business priorities to the mix suggests Qualcomm is also reshaping its workforce, not only acting on individual ratings.
A smartphone slump and a shift toward AI data centers
Qualcomm, one of the world’s biggest smartphone chipmakers, has been hit this year by a slump in consumer electronics sales as soaring memory prices weigh on demand in key markets, Reuters reported. Its shares have risen 1.5% in 2026, compared with gains of more than 12% for the S&P 500 and nearly 60% for the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. They were up more than 1% on Tuesday after trading down about 0.5% earlier in the session.
In its latest earnings report in late July, the company forecast quarterly profit below estimates and said revenue from Apple products would decline faster than expected. It also signaled that growth in data-center and other non-handset businesses would more than offset that lost revenue by fiscal 2027 and said it expects most of its chip sales that year to come from outside smartphones as it expands into the AI data-center market.
This isn’t Qualcomm’s first reduction in recent years. The company notified California’s Employment Development Department in 2023 that it planned to cut 1,258 positions in San Diego and Santa Clara, according to RCR Wireless, and a 2024 state filing covered 226 San Diego employees, according to TechRadar.
How the performance framing compares with the AI narrative
The framing stands out against this year’s layoff backdrop. U.S. technology companies have announced 165,925 job cuts through September 2026, up 54% from the same point in 2025, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. AI is the leading reason employers have given so far this year, cited in 120,136 cuts, or about 21% of the total, the firm said.
HRD America reported in June that AI-driven tech job cuts hit a two-year high in May, when AI accounted for 40% of all announced cuts, according to Challenger. Meta Platforms announced 8,000 of those cuts, and HRD America also examined Meta’s layoff of 8,000 employees and what comes next for HR teams.
Meta took a performance-led approach of its own in early 2025, when it moved to cut about 5% of its workforce, or roughly 3,600 jobs, according to Bloomberg and other news outlets. HRD America also reported on Meta’s decision to conduct performance-based cuts.
What the November timeline means for HR teams
Notifications start in November 2026, and the memo, as Reuters described it, doesn’t say which countries, sites or roles will be affected. Qualcomm’s annual report says its employees work in more than 200 locations across 38 countries.
In the U.S., the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers to give 60 calendar days’ advance notice of covered plant closings and mass layoffs, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment Law Guide. Whether Qualcomm’s reduction triggers that requirement at any U.S. site depends on details the company hasn’t disclosed.
