Qualcomm's 'performance' cuts put about 1,000 India jobs at risk, plus a month's pay for signing fast
Cuts began in Bengaluru and are moving to other Indian cities. Some laid-off engineers say they had good reviews. Qualcomm hasn't confirmed numbers or terms.
Qualcomm has started laying off staff in India, and Indian media put the number at risk at about 1,000 or more. The cuts began in Bengaluru this week and are set to reach Hyderabad, Delhi-NCR and Chennai. Laid-off workers describe a package of three months' pay plus pay tied to their years of service. They also describe an extra month's pay for signing their exit papers within two or three days. Qualcomm has not confirmed the number or the terms.
The company calls the cuts "performance-focused." Some of the people who lost their jobs say they had good reviews. One said a promotion was expected.
What Qualcomm is cutting in India#
The first round hit senior engineers and staff with several years at the company, Moneycontrol reported. It said notices began in Bengaluru and Hyderabad on November 9. The cuts could reach 5% to 6% of the roughly 20,000 people Qualcomm employs in India, it said.
The chipmaker began with its Bengaluru site on Monday, Business Standard reported, citing Financial Express. India is Qualcomm's largest engineering base outside the US. Teams working on radio frequency, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and satellite navigation chips may be hit, according to The Economic Times.
Moneycontrol's post on the cuts had about 270 likes and 28,000 views on X by Wednesday morning. It names the four cities in line for cuts.
The total is still not settled. Qualcomm has not given an India figure. It declined to comment to India Today and did not answer questions from The Hindu. Sources told Reuters, via Investing.com, that the final India number would be "significantly lower" than 1,000. India Today, citing Financial Express, said a second round is expected in January.
The package: pay more to those who sign fast#
The terms below come from news reports and from posts by people who say they were laid off. Qualcomm has not confirmed them, and they may not apply to everyone.
| Item | What is reported | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Base severance | 3 months' salary | ET, Reddit post |
| Service pay | Extra pay tied to years served | ET, Reddit post |
| Fast-sign bonus | 1 more month's salary | ET (3 days), Reddit post (2 days) |
| Last working day | End of January | Reddit post |
A Bengaluru worker posted the details on Reddit's r/qualcomm forum on November 10 under the title "Got laid off today," CNBC-TV18 reported. The worker said a director and an HR staffer ran the meeting. The worker said the news came despite good feedback and an expected promotion. CNBC-TV18 noted it could not verify the account.
An early-signing bonus gives workers a reason to decide quickly. A two- or three-day window leaves little time to get advice on a choice of that size.
"Performance" or cost cutting?#
CEO Cristiano Amon told staff in an October 19 memo that the cuts were a "performance-focused reduction" that would follow annual reviews, The Hindu reported, citing Reuters. He said the goal was "a stronger performance culture."
Not everyone buys that. Pareekh Jain, who runs the research firm EIIRTrend, told The Hindu the cuts seem to span all levels and are "not necessarily performance-based." He said Qualcomm wants to bring its global headcount in line with its business. Posts on r/qualcomm also claim that people with good ratings were let go. The Hindu said it could not verify those posts.
The money backs Jain's point. Qualcomm's revenue for its 2026 fiscal year was $43.12 billion, down 3%. Fourth-quarter revenue fell 8% to $10.32 billion, The Hindu reported.
Arsh Goyal, an engineer and educator with more than 43,000 followers, summed up the mood among Indian tech workers in one line.
ET Now, a business TV channel, also reported the 1,000 figure from its own sources, along with the 5% to 6% share.
How big Qualcomm India has become#
Qualcomm's India staff grew by about 30% from 2021 to 2026, by these counts. The figures below come from company reports cited by The Hindu, plus the 2026 estimate used by Indian media. They are not all measured the same way.
Source: The Hindu, Moneycontrol
Show the numbers
| Year | Employees |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 15,404 |
| 2023 | 18,100 |
| 2026 | 20,000 |
Qualcomm's annual report, filed November 4, put its global staff at about 57,000 as of September 27, The Hindu said. Financial Express has put the global cut at about 7% of 52,000 staff, or around 3,600 jobs, India Today reported. Those two headcounts don't match, so treat the global total as an estimate.
The bigger pattern#
India is where many US firms add engineers. It is now also where some of them cut. We covered Qualcomm's first India notices in our roundup of Boeing, PepsiCo, Canva and Qualcomm layoffs. Other companies are still moving work to India. Qantas is moving 850 office jobs to India through Accenture. And IBM told visa holders in its consulting arm to move abroad or leave.
For engineers in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, the message is mixed. Their skills are still in demand. But a big employer can still trim them while its sales shrink. For now, the key facts are still unconfirmed: how many jobs, which teams, and whether the package is the same for everyone. Qualcomm has not said.
Cite this article
Patrick Karsh. “Qualcomm's 'performance' cuts put about 1,000 India jobs at risk, plus a month's pay for signing fast.” 567 Business. Published 2026-11-11. https://567business.com/news/qualcomm-india-layoffs-1000-jobs-severance-sign-fast
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