Qualcomm Inc., responding to pressure from an activist investor, said Wednesday that it plans a major cut in its workforce under a restructuring that will slash annual spending by $1.4 billion.
San Diego-based Qualcomm is the nation's leading maker of so-called chipsets, or collections of integrated circuits, used in mobile phones. It also earns substantial profit from licensing its technology.
The company's plan includes a 15% cut in its full-time chip-making workforce along with "significant reductions in our temporary workforce" and certain office closures, Qualcomm Chief Executive Steve Mollenkopf told analysts.
He did not specify the exact number of jobs targeted, but Qualcomm employs about 31,000 full-time and temporary employees, so the cuts could amount to 3,500 employees or more.