Chip giant Qualcomm is to lay off some 600 employees globally, it’s being reported.
A company spokesman has confirmed that around 300 workers will be axed from Qualcomm’s California operations, which is where the company has its head quarters.
Meanwhile, a similar number of employees will be cut from the company’s international operations.
Qualcomm employs around 31,300 people overall, and some of these affected positions will be reassigned to other areas of the company.
These cuts are said to be planned as the company shifts its focus to new projects.
“We regularly evaluate our businesses to determine where efficiencies can be obtained and priorities addressed,” a spokesperson told CNET. “
Qualcomm has had a tough time of it of late. While it continues to be the world’s largest mobile chip manufacturer, it has come under legislative pressure from China, Europe, and its native US over the way it conducts its business.
China in particular is investigating the company on anti-monopoly grounds, which appears to have given many of Qualcomm’s licensees (which is how it earns most of its money) the idea of under-report their sales.
This is said to have directly hit Qualcomm in the pocket, with licensing revenue dropping 4.9 percent in the latest quarter.
More recently, Qualcomm has had to refute claims that the Samsung Galaxy S6 – one of next year’s biggest smartphones – has been delayed due to hold ups with its Snapdragon 810 chip.
It’s being claimed that the new 64-bit chip, which is in line to power most of the major flagship smartphones of 2015, overheats and slows down under certain conditions.
However, Qualcomm insists that the Snapdragon 810 is on track to appear in smartphones in the first half of 2015.
Read More: Samsung Galaxy S6 release date
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
