October 21, 2026 / SemiMedia / — Qualcomm plans to cut jobs worldwide following its annual performance reviews, with affected employees to be notified starting in November, Reuters reported. CEO Cristiano Amon outlined the plans in an internal memo dated October 19 but did not disclose the number of positions involved.

Amon said decisions would consider business priorities, organizational requirements and employees’ skills and expertise. He said Qualcomm’s expansion is changing the capabilities it needs across its workforce. The company employed approximately 52,000 people globally as of September 2025.

The plans come as weak consumer electronics demand and rising memory prices weigh on the smartphone market. Qualcomm previously warned that revenue from Apple products would decline faster than anticipated.

The company is expanding into AI data centers and other non-handset markets, expecting growth in those businesses to more than offset lost Apple-related revenue by fiscal 2027. Qualcomm had not responded to Reuters’ request for comment at the time of the report, and the scale and departmental scope of the cuts remained unclear.