Qualcomm is cutting jobs worldwide and will frame the reductions as performance-based, the company said, as the chipmaker reshapes its workforce around AI data center and edge computing. The announcement affects a workforce that stood at roughly 52,000 employees at the end of Qualcomm's 2025 fiscal year, which typically closes in late September. The company did not say which departments would be affected or how many positions would be eliminated. In a memo, Qualcomm said the reduction targets employees who have consistently fallen short of expectations.
The move follows a difficult stretch for Qualcomm, one of the world's largest smartphone chip manufacturers, whose customers include Apple, Xiaomi and Samsung. An industry-wide decline in consumer electronics sales, compounded by rising memory costs that have reduced demand, has weighed on its results. Qualcomm's shares have gained just 1.5% in 2026, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has risen almost 60% over the same period.
Qualcomm is shifting its strategy toward AI infrastructure and edge computing, 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, Qualcomm said growth in its data center business would offset any lost revenue by fiscal year 2027. The company's second-quarter 2026 results showed a 4% year-on-year decline in revenue and 25% lower net income, with its core handset business posting a 20% revenue decline for the year. Qualcomm reportedly recorded $97 million in severance-related restructuring charges in the first nine months of its fiscal year.
Qualcomm's chief executive said the company's expanding business has changed the skills it needs. The performance-based reduction could let Qualcomm keep its most valuable employees in data center silicon, automotive platforms, personal computing and edge computing, while cutting duplicated roles, lower-performing teams and positions that no longer fit its strategy. Mobile chips remain the core business.
The layoffs reflect a wider transition in the tech industry driven largely by AI. After several years of aggressive hiring, many companies are now trimming their workforce to fund AI ambitions; Meta announced plans to cut 8,000 jobs to fund AI infrastructure. At the same time, companies are competing fiercely for process engineers, chip designers and AI software developers. McKinsey and the SEMI Foundation estimate that the United States could face a shortage of up to 157,000 semiconductor workers by 2030, while 73% of chip companies report difficulty filling engineering roles.
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