More Qualcomm Layoffs

This is their third round of layoffs, and I think it’s around 10% of the staff that’s been let go.  One of these days, it could affect the real estate market.  From the UT:

Qualcomm began notifying workers of layoffs on Wednesday as part of its previously announced plan to trim $1 billion in costs.

The number of employees being let go, as well as the departments affected, is unclear. So far, Qualcomm hasn’t filed a layoff notice under the state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which requires 60 day notice of significant layoffs.

In a statement late Wednesday, Qualcomm said the job cuts span permanent and temporary workers.

“A workforce reduction such as this one affects not only those employees who are part of the reduction but their families, co-workers and the community,” a Qualcomm spokesperson said in a statement. “We recognize this and have offered affected employees supportive severance packages to reduce the impact of this transition on them.”

The company said it initially evaluated cost cuts that would have avoided layoffs, “but we concluded that a workforce reduction is needed to support long-term growth and success, which will ultimately benefit all of our stakeholders.”

The cellular technology giant employs about 13,000 workers in San Diego and 33,800 globally. Fifty-two percent of its workforce is based in the U.S. The remainder are employed overseas.

In addition to San Diego, the company has a significant number of U.S. employees in the Bay Area. Severance and other details were unavailable.

The Union-Tribune spoke with a handful of employees, who did not want to be identified, about the layoffs. Some were sad, while one expressed concern that U.S. workers in his product group were let go while foreign H1-B visa employees kept their jobs.

In 2015, Quacomm slashed 1,315 jobs in San Diego and thousands in other locations globally as it trimmed $1.4 billion in costs.

Despite those moves, Qualcomm’s 33,000-plus global workforce is roughly the same today as it was prior to the layoffs three years ago.

That’s partly due to acquisitions. Qualcomm bought British automotive chip firm CSR in 2015. A short time later, it absorbed a joint venture with Japan’s TDK that developed radio frequency front-end semiconductors.

In January, Qualcomm pledged to reduce operating expenses by $1 billion as part of its promise to deliver adjusted earnings of $6.75 to $7.50 per share in fiscal 2019.

That earnings target is significantly higher than adjusted earnings of $4.28 per share last year.

Qualcomm set the lofty financial goal during its brutal hostile takeover battle with chip rival Broadcom this past winter. During the fight, Qualcomm argued that Broadcom’s $117 billion buyout offer undervalued its growth prospects as cellular technology expands into gadgets beyond smartphones.

Broadcom’s takeover attempt was eventually scuttled by the Trump administration on national security grounds. But a significant number of frustrated Qualcomm shareholders supported the Broadcom bid, which puts pressure on the company to hit its per share earnings target.