Intel, grappling with financial difficulties, is set to enter a peak phase of layoffs this week after announcing plans to cut around 15,000 jobs. According to a report by CTECH, following the departure of employees who opted for early retirement at the end of September, Intel is moving forward with its workforce reduction plan, aiming to complete the layoffs by the end of the year.

CTECH reported that managers across Intel’s divisions have already submitted lists of employees recommended for layoffs to their superiors. These employees will soon be notified, with many expected to receive notices as early as this week. Intel’s CEO, Pat Gelsinger, stated last month that most layoff notices will be issued around mid-October.

CTECH quoted Gelsinger in a message to employees, stating that Intel has already passed the halfway mark in its goal of reducing the workforce by approximately 15,000 employees by the end of the year, largely through voluntary early retirements and separation packages. However, he acknowledged that more difficult decisions lie ahead, with the next round of notifications expected in mid-October.

Intel announced in early August that it would cut approximately 15% of its workforce and suspend dividend payments starting in the fourth quarter. This layoff plan is part of Intel’s broader effort to implement a $10 billion cost restructuring

Then, on September 16th, Intel announced plans to transform its foundry business into a wholly-owned subsidiary with its own board of directors.

(Photo credit: Intel)

As Qualcomm reportedly eyes a potential acquisition of Intel, the chipmaker is once again making headlines for its upcoming round of layoffs.

According to TechCrunch, Qualcomm will cut 226 jobs in San Diego later this year, as revealed by a California WARN notice. The layoffs, set to take effect the week of November 12, will impact 16 facilities across the city, including its headquarters. It remains unclear which specific divisions will be affected.

The latest job cuts come less than a year after Qualcomm reduced its workforce by over 1,250 employees, despite reporting $35.8 billion in annual revenue in 2023. These layoffs reflect the company’s ongoing efforts to realign its resources amid a strategic shift, focusing on maximizing opportunities in diversified markets.

According to Wccftech, Qualcomm has made notable progress in the laptop market, with its ARM-based Snapdragon X Elite SoCs gaining popularity among manufacturers. CEO Cristiano Amon has revealed that the company is developing more “affordable” laptop models, with prices potentially starting at $700, in an effort to capture a larger market share.

Beyond Qualcomm’s focus on AI-powered PCs this year, the spotlight has shifted to reports that the company has approached Intel Corp. to explore a potential acquisition of the struggling chipmaker. According to sources cited by Bloomberg, this move could result in one of the largest mergers and acquisitions in tech history.

(Photo credit: Qualcomm)

Following the US’s recent expansion of chip control measures targeting China on October 17th, the American chip maker, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is reportedly planning workforce reductions of approximately 10% to 15% at its Shanghai research center. Additionally, there are rumors of impending layoffs in the Chinese subsidiary of Synopsys, a leading Electronic Design Automation (EDA) giant from the US.

As reported by the tech media ICsmart, recent leaks on a Chinese social community have hinted at AMD’s workforce cuts in China, which are expected to affect around 10% to 15% of their employees, encompassing roughly 300 to 450 individuals. Notably, the Radeon Technologies Group (RTG) department is anticipated to be significantly affected.

Insiders within AMD revealed that on October 25th, all meeting rooms at the Shanghai research center were pre-booked by the Human Resources department, strongly suggesting that layoffs are on the horizon.

Established in 2006, AMD’s Shanghai research center stands as their largest facility outside of the United States, employing around 3,000 professionals. The center plays a crucial role in designing, developing, and testing products like Central Processing Units (CPUs), Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), and Accelerated Processing Units (APUs). It has been instrumental in introducing innovative products to AMD’s portfolio, such as the Ryzen series processors and Radeon series graphics cards. The RTG department at AMD is responsible for advancing Radeon series graphics card technologies.

AMD’s financial report for the second quarter of this year reveals a total revenue of $5.4 billion, a decline of 18% compared to the previous year. Significantly, the net profit was only $27 million, marking a substantial 94% drop from the same period last year.

China represents AMD’s most substantial overseas market, with sales reaching $5.27 billion in 2022, contributing to 22% of their total revenue.

Reports indicate that the US introduced new bans on Chinese chips on October 7th last year, particularly affecting high-performance chips used for AI computations. On October 17th, the US further tightened these restrictions, leading to the inclusion of more NVIDIA and AMD GPU products, directly impacting AMD’s research and development efforts in mainland China. Given this context, news of AMD layoffs in China doesn’t come as a surprise.

The report also suggests that, while this isn’t something China welcomes, from another perspective, these layoffs might channel more talent towards local GPU manufacturers. Many key figures in Chinese GPU startups have their roots in AMD.

Furthermore, there are rumors that Synopsys recently convened an all-hands meeting, indicating the possibility of impending layoffs.

As a global leader EDA, Synopsys established its presence in China back in 1995 and has since established offices in various cities. The company boasts a workforce of over 1,500 people and has a robust system for technical research and talent development.

The report mentions that the impact of the US restrictions on Synopsys mainly stems from its inability to supply to Chinese chip design companies already included on the US Entity List, such as Huawei’s Hisilicon. While it has negatively impacted its business, the growing trend of Chinese firms pursuing self-developed chip production mitigates the overall impact.

(Image: AMD)

According to Taiwan’s TechNews, the ongoing soft demand for smartphones, combined with Huawei’s launch of the Mate 60 Pro, has severely impacted Qualcomm. Reports within the Chinese industry suggest that Qualcomm is planning significant layoffs in China, with severance costs estimated to be as high as N+7.

Based on discussions in Chinese forums and media reports, Qualcomm’s Shanghai R&D center is set to undergo substantial layoffs. This center primarily focuses on wireless-related businesses. The severance standards for permanent employees are at least N+4, which means the employee’s tenure plus an additional 4 months are considered for severance pay. As for contract employees, the severance compensation is set at N+7.

In fact, Qualcomm announced its downsizing plan in August, with reports suggesting that Qualcomm Taiwan plans to lay off about 200 employees in October. This will affect personnel in product engineering, testing, and verification fields, comprising 11.8% of the total workforce. The company is also implementing cost-saving measures such as eliminating annual salary adjustments and reducing bonuses to 70%.

This downsizing rumor has also extended to China, with reports at the time suggesting that Qualcomm China might lay off up to 40% of its workforce. The main reasons cited were sluggish demand for smartphones and Huawei’s new Kirin processor.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities stated that Huawei is expected to fully adopt its own designed Kirin processors in its upcoming phones next year. Qualcomm will be the major loser in this scenario, losing Huawei’s orders entirely.

According to Kuo’s data, Huawei purchased 23 to 25 million smartphone SoCs (System on a Chip) from Qualcomm in 2022, but this number increased to 40 to 42 million in 2023. However, starting in 2024, Huawei will use its own chip designs, causing Qualcomm to not only lose orders but also face the risk of declining shipments from other Chinese brand customers due to Huawei’s increased market share.

Kuo also expects that, influenced by Huawei’s actions, Qualcomm’s SoC shipments to Chinese smartphone brands will decrease by 50 to 60 million units next year and continue to decline in the following years.

With a significant potential decline in performance in the Chinese market and increasing price competition towards the end of the year, Qualcomm is expected to carry out more layoffs. As of September last year, Qualcomm had approximately 51,000 employees worldwide. The company’s restructuring costs in the last quarter amounted to $285 million, with most of it being severance pay. In June of this year, the U.S. headquarters also reduced around 415 positions.