Qualcomm India layoffs: chipmaker begins Bengaluru job cuts with about 1,000 roles at risk

Qualcomm India layoffs have begun, with the US chipmaker starting job cuts at its Bengaluru facility and around 1,000 roles in the country potentially at risk, Business Standard reported on 11 November, citing a Financial Express report. The Business Standard report carried no Qualcomm statement on the India numbers. The cuts come as the company restructures its workforce worldwide while its handset chip business shrinks, a shift in the wider technology and software sector.

What happened

The first round of cuts began on Monday 9 November at the Bengaluru facility, Business Standard said, and is expected to continue in phases across Qualcomm’s Indian operations. The report described the cuts as broad-based, covering senior engineers as well as recent hires. It added that some employees asked to leave said they had received no prior performance feedback. The report did not include a response from Qualcomm to that point.

Business Standard, citing Financial Express, said affected employees were offered severance equal to three months’ salary, linked to length of service, with an extra month’s salary for those who signed their relieving documents within three days. Financial Express also reported that another round could follow in January. These severance and timing details come from press reports and were not confirmed by Qualcomm in the coverage reviewed.

The cuts trace back to an internal memo from Chief Executive Cristiano Amon, which Reuters reported on 20 October. Amon described a “performance-focused reduction” that follows annual employee reviews, with notifications starting in November. The memo gave no job numbers.

Key numbers

• About 1,000: India roles potentially at risk, per Business Standard on 11 November. India has about 20,000 Qualcomm employees, the same report said.
• 52,000: Qualcomm’s global headcount as of September 2025, according to Reuters.
• $10.32 billion: revenue for the quarter ended September, down 8% from $11.27 billion a year earlier, RTTNews reported on 4 November.
• $5.14 billion: handset revenue in the same quarter, down 26% year on year, per RTTNews.
• $5 billion: the fiscal 2027 data centre revenue target Qualcomm reiterated on 4 November, according to 24/7 Wall St.

Qualcomm layoffs Bengaluru: why the chipmaker is restructuring

Qualcomm’s September quarter showed two businesses moving in opposite directions. Handset revenue fell to $5.14 billion, while automotive revenue hit a record $1.99 billion, up 89%, RTTNews reported. 24/7 Wall St said management pointed to rising wafer, packaging and memory costs pressing on gross margins. Reuters noted on 20 October that Qualcomm shares had risen just 1.5% in 2026, against more than 12% for the S&P 500 and nearly 60% for the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Amon framed the company’s direction after the results: “Fiscal 2027 marks the start of our non-handset revenue inflection, including the ramp of our Data Center business,” 24/7 Wall St quoted him as saying. In June, chief financial officer Akash Palkhiwala told investors Qualcomm expects about $15 billion in data centre chip sales by 2029, Khaleej Times reported. That article described Nvidia as the large incumbent in data centre chips for artificial intelligence. We covered another chip move this week, when Alibaba’s T-Head chip unit filed for a Hong Kong listing.

Who is affected

Business Standard said Qualcomm’s main research and engineering sites in India are in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi-NCR and Chennai, and called India its largest engineering base outside the United States. The first cuts, per Business Standard, are in Bengaluru, and the report said they are expected to continue in phases.

What happens next

Financial Express reported that a second round could come in January. Qualcomm gave first quarter guidance on 4 November of $10.4 billion to $11.2 billion in revenue, per RTTNews. Whether Qualcomm India layoffs spread beyond Bengaluru, and how many of the roughly 1,000 roles at risk are actually cut, will depend on notifications over the coming weeks. The Business Standard report carried no Qualcomm figure for India.