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Qualcomm laying off more than 1,000 San Diego workers, employees say

Layoffs coming to Qualcomm, employees report
Posted at 1:11 PM, Apr 18, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-19 15:50:48-04

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- Qualcomm employees reporting Wednesday the company is laying off workers in San Diego.

The San Diego Workforce Partnership confirmed that 1,231 workers will be laid off by June 19 from the company's Sorrento Valley headquarters.

Three employees, one reached in person the other two by phone, tell 10News they believe many more will be let go at other locations, including San Jose, Santa Clara, New Jersey and in Europe. 

A Qualcomm spokesperson told 10News the layoffs are part of a "cost reduction" plan introduced at the beginning of this year:

"As part of the cost reduction plan announced in January, Qualcomm is conducting a reduction of our full-time and temporary workforce.
 
A workforce reduction, such as this one, affects not only those employees who are part of the reduction, but their families, co-workers and the community. We recognize this and have offered affected employees supportive severance packages to reduce the impact of this transition on them.  We first evaluated non-headcount expense reductions, but we concluded that a workforce reduction is needed to support long-term growth and success, which will ultimately benefit all our stakeholders."

San Diego Financial Adviser Dennis Brewster, who's firm is located within a stone's throw of the Qualcomm HQ, says the layoffs come as little surprise.

"The stocks been sideways for five years and really the last 10 years haven't been that good," says Brewster, "And sooner or later, unless that top line is growing you're going to have to do something for a public company to increase that bottom line." 

Brewster says revenue numbers are remain very impressive -more than 22-billion dollars last year- but that's still down from the nearly 24 billion reported in 2015. 

RELATED: After Trump's block, Qualcomm facing post-Broadcom uncertainties 

Brewster says the latest blow came just this week, when a deal for Qualcomm to sell products to a company in China was blocked by the U.S. Government which accuses the Chinese company of doing business with Iran. 

And Qualcomm has had to deal with other turbulence recently; with its executive chairman Paul Jacobs stepping down amid a legal battle with Apple.

The company also recently faced international fines due to alleged anti-competitive practices.

RELATED: San Diego-based tech company Qualcomm replaces Executive Chairman Paul Jacobs 

In mid-March, the Trump administration blocked a $117 billion bid from Singapore-based Broadcom citing national security concerns.

The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation estimated in early 2018 that the company has a $4.9 billion impact on the San Diego economy.

According to employees, the current round of layoffs took place Wednesday morning as department heads met with workers; explaining the company simply needs to save money.

Check out the timeline below to see some of Qualcomm's history: