Laid off from Broadcom.
When Broadcom bought VMware for $69 billion, nearly 3,000 layoffs followed within weeks, tracked state by state through WARN filings. VMware employees got three doors, a Broadcom offer, severance, or a transition year.
At a glance
What's been reported about Broadcom severance packages
- About 2,838 announced layoffs · First post-close month
- $69B, closed November 2023 · The deal
- Broadcom offer, severance, or a transition role · The three options reported
- 1,267 roles in California · Largest single state hit
The latest
The VMware integration keeps shedding roles
Broadcom's November 2023 acquisition of VMware was followed by about 2,838 announced layoffs within a month, spread across California, Texas, Georgia, Colorado, Virginia, New York, and Washington, with continued trims through the integration as the company reshaped VMware's business model.
Previous rounds
How Broadcom has handled layoffs in the past
Broadcom's VMware playbook is the reference case for what a hard-integration acquirer does. Within weeks of the $69 billion close, nearly 3,000 layoffs were on the books across seven states, the Palo Alto campus took the largest single hit, and the acquirer's model, convert the product to subscriptions, keep the revenue, shrink the cost base, required far fewer people than VMware had employed.
The three-door structure, an offer, severance, or a roughly year-long transitional role, deserves study because acquirers reuse it. The transition role keeps critical knowledge through the integration while time-limiting the obligation, and anyone offered one should read it as exactly that, a defined runway with a known end, not a reprieve, and use the year accordingly.
For employees anywhere near an acquisition target, the Broadcom case teaches timing. The cuts began within thirty days of closing, which means the window for negotiating retention or reading severance terms opens the day the deal is announced, not the day it closes. WARN filings across the states tracked every wave, and they remain the most reliable record of an integration nobody narrates voluntarily.
Recent Broadcom layoffs
2024 through 2025 · Continued integration reductions across former VMware sites as Broadcom converted the business to subscription licensing and trimmed overlapping functions
Terms not published for later waves.
December 2023 into 2024 · About 2,838 layoffs announced in the month after closing, including 1,267 in California, 577 in Austin, and cuts in five other states
VMware employees were reported facing three paths, a Broadcom job offer, immediate severance, or a transitional role lasting about a year. Severance amounts not published.
Quick answers
What happened to VMware employees after the Broadcom acquisition?
Nearly 3,000 layoffs were announced within a month of closing, tracked through WARN filings across seven states, with employees reported facing three options, a Broadcom job offer, immediate severance, or a transitional role lasting about a year. Trims continued through the integration.
What severance did Broadcom pay VMware employees?
Amounts weren't published. The documented structure was the three-path choice, and individual severance ran through separation agreements. The transitional roles carried defined end dates rather than ongoing employment.
What severance has Broadcom given laid-off employees?
About 2,838 announced layoffs (first post-close month). Packages change between rounds, and your separation agreement is the only version that counts.
Where do I file for unemployment after a Broadcom layoff?
In the state where you worked, not where the company is headquartered. Broadcom's biggest U.S. hubs are California, Texas. Severance usually doesn't block you from filing, and benefits run from your filing date, so file the same week.
Should I sign the severance agreement right away?
Not on the spot. First pin down how much review time you actually have. If you're 40 or older, federal law gives you 21 days to consider an agreement that waives age claims, 45 in a group layoff, and a waiver signed under a shorter deadline can be invalid. If you're under 40, no federal window applies and the deadline in your packet may be real, so confirm it in writing and ask for more time if you need it. Use whatever window you have to read the release terms, especially non-disparagement and no-lawsuit clauses, and don't stall past a real deadline, because offers can be withdrawn.
Can I collect unemployment if I got severance from Broadcom?
Usually yes, though some states delay benefits until severance pay periods end, and lump sums are treated differently than salary continuation. Check your state's rules on our state benefit pages, and file immediately either way so your claim date is locked in.
Help for people recently laid off from Broadcom
- File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. Broadcom's biggest hubs: California, Texas. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
- Don't sign the severance agreement on the spot. Find out in writing how long you have to review it. At 40 or older, federal law guarantees 21 days, 45 in group layoffs. Under 40, the packet's deadline may be real, so ask for time rather than assume. Read our severance breakdown first. The clauses matter more than the number.
- Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses.
- Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
- Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.