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Qualcomm has begun laying off employees in India, starting with its Bengaluru operations on November 9, as part of a global workforce restructuring that could affect around 1,000 employees across the country, according to people familiar with the developments.
The first round of layoffs has impacted senior engineers and employees with several years of experience at the US-based semiconductor company. The exercise is expected to extend to Qualcomm’s engineering and research facilities in Hyderabad, Delhi NCR and Chennai in the coming days, sources close to the development told Moneycontrol.
While Qualcomm has not officially disclosed the number of positions being eliminated in India, the restructuring could affect around 5-6% of its estimated 20,000-strong workforce in the country.
Affected employees have been offered severance equivalent to three months’ salary, with additional compensation linked to their tenure, according to people aware of the matter.
Employees who sign their exit documents within three days have reportedly been offered an additional month’s salary as an incentive for early acceptance of the separation terms. Qualcomm has not publicly confirmed the severance arrangements.
The layoffs follow a global workforce reduction announced by Qualcomm chief executive Cristiano Amon on October 20, when the company outlined plans to reduce headcount following its annual performance review process.
The company described the exercise as performance-focused, aimed at strengthening accountability and aligning its workforce with evolving business priorities.
Queries sent to Qualcomm India didn’t elicit any response.
However, the inclusion of senior engineers and experienced employees in the India layoffs has raised questions about whether the restructuring extends beyond individual performance assessments to broader organisational rationalisation and cost-cutting measures.
Sources said selection process could involve a combination of individual performance ratings, team-level assessments and decisions by senior management, including US-based business leaders. Some employees have also flagged potential reductions across radio frequency (RF), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and global navigation satellite system (GNSS) engineering teams.
The restructuring comes amid mounting challenges in the global smartphone market, which remains Qualcomm’s biggest revenue contributor, even as the company seeks to diversify into artificial intelligence, automotive technologies, connected devices and data-centre semiconductors.
Faisal Kawoosa, founder and chief analyst at Techarc, said the slowdown in smartphone sales, particularly in India, was likely to have implications across the semiconductor value chain, including chipset suppliers such as Qualcomm.
“Techarc expects India’s smartphone market to decline 26-28% by volume and 7-8% by value in 2026. Smartphones account for 51% of Qualcomm’s revenue, so the company remains significantly dependent on this segment even as it diversifies,” Kawoosa said.
He added that while Qualcomm had seen traction in automotive, the business would take time to scale and could account for 25-30% of its revenue over the next three to five years.
Kawoosa said Qualcomm had been undergoing a transformation over the past three to four years, but building businesses in new categories required patience, as each market had its own ecosystem and adoption cycle.
“Qualcomm needs to identify its next smartphone-level growth driver and be patient as it diversifies into infrastructure, automotive and compute,” he said.
In India, Qualcomm lost significant smartphone market share to its Taiwanese rival MediaTek.
The company is also facing challenges in its traditional smartphone business. Apple’s transition towards its own modem technology threatens Qualcomm’s long-standing modem supply relationship, while competition from MediaTek remains intense, particularly outside the premium smartphone segment.
India remains a significant engineering and research hub for Qualcomm, supporting development across wireless technologies, semiconductor design, software and advanced connectivity solutions. The ongoing layoffs could therefore raise questions about the company’s future engineering investments and workforce requirements in the country, particularly if specialised research and development teams are affected.
The restructuring also extends to the United States. According to a report by Investing.com, Qualcomm was expected to submit layoff notifications in California under the state’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which requires qualifying employers to provide advance notice of certain workforce reductions.
The India layoffs also follow a recent leadership change at Qualcomm’s local operations. A few months ago, the company removed Savi Soin from his position as India president and appointed Rajen Vagadia as interim president.
The leadership transition, followed by the workforce reduction, comes at a time when Qualcomm is reassessing its organisational structure and investment priorities across global markets.
