Qualcomm plans global job cuts from November

Qualcomm plans to begin notifying employees of global job cuts in November after yearly staff reviews, Benzinga reported on Oct. 20, citing Reuters and an internal memo from CEO Cristiano Amon.

The chipmaker had nearly 52,000 employees globally as of September 2025, and the cuts come as analysts expect quarterly revenue of $10.11 billion versus $11.27 billion a year earlier.

Benzinga, citing Reuters, said Amon told employees about the plan in a memo on Monday. Qualcomm did not give a headcount for the planned reductions, according to the report.

Amon said the company would weigh business priorities, organizational needs and workers’ skills and expertise when deciding the reductions, Benzinga reported, citing Reuters.

The planned cuts add a labor component to Qualcomm’s effort to broaden revenue beyond handsets. The company has been pushing into AI data centers, automotive, internet-of-things products and AI-related applications as the smartphone market remains weak.

Qualcomm expects non-handset revenue growth to rise from 24% in 2026 to more than 60% in 2027, according to the Benzinga report. The company also raised its fiscal 2029 non-handset revenue target to $40 billion from $22 billion.

Data centers are central to that plan. Qualcomm expects the business to generate $5 billion of revenue in 2027 and $15 billion in 2029, according to the report.

The company said on its latest earnings call in July that higher memory prices and supply constraints were weighing on smartphone demand. Qualcomm also expects a faster step-down in Apple product revenue starting in the fourth fiscal quarter, according to the report.

The scale of the job cuts, their geographic distribution and any restructuring costs were not disclosed. The report also does not establish how much savings Qualcomm expects or whether the reductions will materially alter spending in its growth businesses.

Qualcomm shares rose 0.53% to $174.44 at the time of Benzinga’s publication on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data cited in the article. The stock traded at 19.8 times earnings and carried a Hold rating with an average price forecast of $202.32, according to Benzinga.

Qualcomm is scheduled to report quarterly results on Nov. 4. Analysts expect earnings of $2.16 a share, compared with $3 a year earlier, on revenue of $10.11 billion, down from $11.27 billion, according to Benzinga.

Source: Trade-press article, Benzinga, Oct. 20, 2026.