9 years at Qualcomm, Rs 70 lakh salary, and now a layoff scare

She joined Qualcomm at 24 and spent nine years working on the technology inside millions of smartphones. Now, as the chipmaker cuts jobs in India, a post about her uncertain future has highlighted the personal cost of the layoffs.She joined Qualcomm at 24 and spent nine years working on the technology inside millions of smartphones. (Photo: Reuters)New Delhi,Nov 12, 2026 08:00 ISTShe spent nine years designing the chips inside your phone. She joined Qualcomm at 24, and her parents were so proud that they told the entire family. She worked on 5G modems used in millions of smartphones, built a career in the semiconductor industry and was earning Rs 70 lakh a year.Now, she could be among the employees losing their jobs as Qualcomm cuts its workforce in India.The chipmaker has reportedly begun layoffs in the country, with around 1,000 roles potentially at risk. The move is part of a wider restructuring described by CEO Cristiano Amon as a “performance-focused reduction."Amid the cuts, an X user shared the story of a woman they know, highlighting what a corporate layoff can mean for someone who has spent years building a career at a company. FROM 5G MODEMS TO A HOME LOAN EMIThe post captures the personal stakes in a few stark details.“She is earning 70 lakh a year, has a 83000 home loan EMI, and has company stock due to vest next year that she was saving for her daughter's school fees,” the user wrote. The employee's nine years at Qualcomm had given her more than a job title. Her salary, home loan repayments and plans for her daughter's education were tied to that career. The stock she expected to receive next year was part of those plans, too.Then came the CEO's memo.The post claims, “This year Qualcomm made $13.6 BILLION in profit. Not revenue. Profit.”It goes on to question the timing of the cuts, pointing to pressure in the smartphone chip business, Apple's efforts to develop its own modems and the growing flow of investment towards artificial intelligence data centres.THE ENGINEERS WHO BUILT THE BUSINESSThe post makes a pointed argument about the people affected by the restructuring.“Most of these engineers didn't fail,” it says. “They built the thing that made Qualcomm a giant. Now the company is moving on from that thing, and from them.”It also raises a concern about what comes next for experienced chip engineers. Although India needs semiconductor talent, finding another job at the same salary may not be straightforward, particularly for professionals with 15 years of experience earning around Rs 1 crore.“Some will take big pay cuts. Some will spend months explaining a gap that wasn't their fault,” the post says. (Photo: X/@TrustScore_1) WHY QUALCOMM IS CUTTING JOBSThe post links the layoffs to changes in the chipmaker's business. Smartphone chip sales are under pressure, Apple is developing its own modem technology, and investment is increasingly shifting towards artificial intelligence and data centres.India Today has reported that Qualcomm may cut roughly 7 per cent of its global workforce of around 52,000 employees, translating to about 3,600 jobs. In India, the company has around 20,000 employees across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi NCR and Chennai. The cuts are expected to affect both experienced engineers and recent hires.The company has also been facing pressure in its handset business, with handset revenue declining 25 per cent in its latest quarter, according to the report.The X post argues that many affected engineers did not lose their jobs because they failed at their work. Instead, the business priorities around them are changing.For the woman in the post, the uncertainty is not simply about finding another employer. It is about what happens to the financial plans built around nine years of work.And that is the human cost behind the latest round of tech layoffs.(Disclaimer: This story is based on a social media post. The details, including figures, background, and outcomes, have not been independently verified by India Today. The article is intended for informational purposes only, and readers are advised to exercise their own discretion before drawing conclusions or making decisions based on the content.)- Ends