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Qualcomm Layoffs 2019: Chip Maker Confirms 269 Job Cuts

Qualcomm layoffs will impact 269 employees in San Diego, California, and Raleigh, North Carolina, the mobile chip technology company has confirmed.

The job cuts will be effective in February 2019, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) filings.

The San Diego area cuts involve Qualcomm's Life division, which provides wireless connectivity systems for the medical industry, according to The San Diego Union Tribune. The technology company has been exploring the potential sale of a majority stake in  Qualcomm Life, The Union Tribune reported in June 2018. The Raleigh job cuts involve the company's data center engineer team, the report said.

The company had roughly 33,800 employees as of 2017.

Qualcomm's revenues were $5.8 billion in Q4 of 2018, down 2 percent from $5.9 billion in Q4 of 2017, the company disclosed in November. The company had a $500,000 net loss in Q4 of 2018, far larger than a $200,000 net loss in Q4 of 2017, the November earnings statement revealed.

Qualcomm Prepares PC Chips, Counters Intel

To drive growth, Qualcomm will drive the commercialization of 5G wireless technologies globally in 2019, CEO Steve Mollenkopf has indicated. Moreover, the company is reinventing its smartphone chips for use in next-generation PCs. The effort involves the Snapdragon 8cx Compute Platform, a 7 nanometer PC platform that will ship in commercial devices in Q3 of 2019, Qualcomm said last week.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.