Qualcomm (QCOM) is laying off over 1500 employees in California and an unrevealed number in other states of America as well as internationally. The chip maker said the latest decision is a part of a $1 billion cost-saving plan it announced earlier this year.
QCOM shares fell nearly 5 percent on Thursday following the news.
The chipmaker reported that the job-cuts include both full and part time workers. It plans to trim 1,231 jobs in San Diego and 289 in San Jose, according to documents filed with Employment Development Department of California.
The San Diego-based company’s spokesperson said in a statement that the layoffs were essential to support growth and success in the longer run that will eventually benefit all stakeholders.
Qualcomm, whose chips are widely used by smartphone manufacturers, didn’t disclose the details regarding the number of employees it currently has and number of jobs it is cutting outside California. As of September 2017, the company had 33,800 employees across the across the globe, according to its official website.
The company was recently the subject of a $117 billion offer from competitor Broadcom. However, United States President Donald Trump opposed the deal over national security concerns and Broadcom gave up on its ambition of buying Qualcomm in March. Trump’s administration was concerned that the deal would hamper Qualcomm’s 5G research and development and ultimately delay launch of a 5G wireless network in the U.S., giving Chinese rivals an edge.
Increasing trade tensions between the U.S. and China is creating more difficulties for Qualcomm, as Chinese authorities are holding back its proposed $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors over antitrust issues.
Qualcomm announced on Thursday that it is refiling the application related to NXP deal on the request of China’s Ministry of Commerce that will extend the acquisition deadline to July 25, preventing the deal from immediately falling apart.
