Qualcomm’s struggling data center business was hit another massive blow as the company laid off hundreds. The news, first revealed by the Information, has since been confirmed by TechCrunch.
The chipmaker laid off 269 employees in all, including 144 in Raleigh, North Carolina, where its data center business is located, and an additional 125 in San Diego, the company’s hometown. This is the latest in a number of cost-cutting moves made by the company this year. In April, it slashed north of 1,500 jobs, primarily in California.
The news comes at the tail end of what ought to have been a celebratory week, as the chipmaker unveiled its 2019 roadmap — including the Snapdragon 855 — at an event in Maui.
These latest layoffs follow an announcement in June that the company intended to lay off 241 people in a data center business that has been struggling to compete with Intel. At the time, however, the company roundly denied that it was abandoning the category altogether — something the company has reiterated in a statement provided to TechCrunch.
“Qualcomm conducted a small reduction of our full-time and temporary workforce in certain areas of the company,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch. “While this activity impacts a very small percentage of our workforce, we know a workforce reduction of any size affects not only those employees who are part of the reduction, but their families, co-workers and the community. We recognize this and have offered affected employees supportive severance packages to reduce the impact of this transition on them.”
With a reported ~50 or so employees currently left in the Research Triangle location, however, Quacomm’s prospects appear to have dimmed considerably.
Source : Qualcomm lays off 269 employees in North Carolina and California
