What The Economic Times reported this morning
Qualcomm has not confirmed the numbers, and did not respond to ET’s queries. But industry estimates quoted in the report put the possible impact in India at 600 to 1,200 jobs. That would be roughly 3 to 6 per cent of the company’s 20,000-strong workforce in the country.
The two estimates differ on the scale. EIIRTrend projects more than 1,000 job cuts in India, while UnearthInsight expects the impact to be under 3 per cent of the local workforce. Employees could start getting notified in November, as part of the company’s annual performance review cycle.
The key phrase in the report is “performance-led.” This is not being framed as a site shutdown or a business-line exit. It is a global restructuring that will land unevenly, with individual ratings mattering more than team or location. That makes the final numbers hard to pin down from the outside, and it is also why Qualcomm can keep them undisclosed.
Why Qualcomm is restructuring now
The pressure on Qualcomm’s core business is no secret. Most of its revenue still comes from smartphone chips, and that market has been soft through the year. Rising memory prices have weighed on consumer electronics demand, which feeds straight into chip orders.
In July, the company forecast quarterly profit below estimates and said Apple-related revenue would decline faster than it had expected. The stock reflects the problem: Qualcomm shares are up only about 1.5 per cent in 2026, while the S&P 500 has gained more than 12 per cent and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has risen nearly 60 per cent.
- Smartphone demand is weak: the handset chip business that built Qualcomm is no longer growing fast enough to carry costs.
- The Apple transition: Apple-related revenue is falling faster than expected, taking a chunk out of forecasts.
- The pivot to data centres: Qualcomm expects data centre and other non-handset businesses to offset the Apple decline by fiscal 2027, and it expects most of its chip sales to come from outside smartphones in that year.
- Market pressure: with peers rallying 60 per cent, investors have little patience for a company growing at 1.5 per cent.
What this means for Qualcomm’s India teams
India is one of Qualcomm’s largest engineering bases in the world, which is why even a “small” percentage cut translates into hundreds of jobs. The BharatFast analysis of the development makes a practical point: a performance-led cut usually lands unevenly across teams.
Support and programme management roles typically take the first hit in such exercises, while teams working on growth areas like data centres and automotive tend to be protected. For engineers, the practical difference from a business-unit-wide layoff is that the decision is framed around individual ratings rather than a spreadsheet of roles. That makes the outcome harder to predict, and harder to prepare for, from the outside.
What to watch from here: first, whether Qualcomm confirms any India number at all or lets the estimates stand. Second, the direction of its data centre hiring in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, which would show whether this is a reshuffle or a genuine contraction. Third, severance terms and how the cuts land around the annual bonus and appraisal cycle, since November notifications fall close to appraisal season.
A pattern across tech, not an exception
Qualcomm is not restructuring in a vacuum. Another ET report published on the same morning, citing staffing firm Xpheno, found that India’s top six software services companies, TCS, Infosys, HCLTech, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and LTIMindtree, saw their combined IT and engineering headcount fall by 24,422 over the year to October 2026. The companies recorded around 92,000 exits in that period, in line with the industry’s normal attrition rate of 11 to 15 per cent, but recruitment did not replace all the departing employees.
The through-line is artificial intelligence. TeamLease Digital told ET that the decline reflects workforce optimisation and changing technology requirements, with AI reducing the need for routine work in traditional IT roles. Xpheno chief executive Francis Padamadan put it plainly: annual attrition stayed at 11 to 15 per cent, but companies did not necessarily refill the seats that were vacated.
For tech professionals in India, the message of the season is consistent: hiring has not stopped, but it has become far more selective. The jobs that remain protected are the ones tied to growth areas, data centres, automotive, AI engineering and specialised product roles. The jobs under pressure are support functions, routine maintenance and roles that AI tooling can now absorb.
FAQs
Is Qualcomm cutting jobs in India?
The Economic Times reported on October 22, 2026, citing industry estimates, that Qualcomm could cut 600 to 1,200 jobs in India as part of a global, performance-led restructuring. The company has not confirmed the numbers.
How many Qualcomm employees are in India?
Qualcomm has a roughly 20,000-strong workforce in India, one of its largest engineering bases in the world. The estimated cuts would be 3 to 6 per cent of that number.
When will employees be notified?
Qualcomm is expected to begin notifying employees of job cuts in November, as part of its annual performance review cycle.
Why is Qualcomm restructuring?
Soft smartphone chip demand, rising memory prices, faster-than-expected decline in Apple-related revenue and a below-estimate quarterly profit forecast in July have put pressure on the company, whose stock has lagged peers badly this year.
Which roles are most at risk?
Industry watchers expect support and programme management roles to take the first hit in a performance-led exercise, while data centre and automotive teams are likely to be protected.
The Economic Times, BharatFast and industry analysts will update the picture as Qualcomm responds. We will keep this story updated as official numbers emerge.
