This action comes after a hostile takeover bid from rival Broadcom. Qualcomm pledged that it would cut costs in order to improve earnings, but shareholders were more interested in Broadcom's offer. However, President Trump intervened in the potential merger, blocking it in the interest of national security. Now, Qualcomm must take steps to improve its earnings. Cutting jobs is, unfortunately, one of those steps.

A person with knowledge of the situation told Bloomberg that these layoffs represented the majority of the job cuts Qualcomm would make, though there would be some others in different departments. The company did look at other options before resorting to layoffs. "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," the company said in a statement to Bloomberg.