Laid off from Qualcomm.
Qualcomm has cut San Diego in layers, 1,250 California roles in late 2024, 226 more in late 2025, then a drip of building-by-building filings through 2026 that reached into engineering VP ranks. The formula stays unpublished.
At a glance
What's been reported about Qualcomm severance packages
- About 1,250 roles · October 2024 California round
- 226 roles · November 2025 San Diego round
- 21 · WARN filings since 2025, our tracker, all California
- Not published · Individual severance terms
Recent Qualcomm layoffs
The San Diego drip continues
Qualcomm's 2026 filings run small and specific, building-level San Diego notices following the 226-role November 2025 round that reporting said reached senior engineering leadership including several VPs. All 21 of its filings since 2025 in our tracker are California.
Previous rounds
Qualcomm layoff history
Qualcomm concentrates in San Diego, so its restructuring shows up as one city absorbing wave after wave. The late-2024 round took more than 1,200 California roles, late 2025 added 226, and 2026's filings kept arriving building by building. When cuts reach VP-level engineering, as reporting described in the 2025 round, the restructuring is organizational, not just cyclical.
The company's pivot explains the shape. Handset royalties and modem revenue fund the business while it builds into automotive, IoT, and AI PCs, and the cuts have tracked the legacy side of that ledger. For a workforce of roughly 50,000, the annual reductions run small in percentage terms and large in local impact.
If you're affected at Qualcomm, California's rules do real work for you, the state WARN notice period, final-paycheck timing law, and the benefit figures on our California page. Semiconductor experience is in demand across the industry's expansion, and San Diego's cluster means competitors know exactly what Qualcomm experience means. Terms arrive as individual agreements against an unpublished formula, review windows apply.
Previous Qualcomm layoff rounds
2026, rolling · Building-level San Diego filings in small batches through the year
Terms not published.
November 2025 · 226 San Diego roles, with reporting describing operations, finance, and senior engineering affected, VPs included
Terms not published.
October 2024 · More than 1,200 California roles, over 1,000 of them in San Diego, in the market-slowdown round
Terms not published.
How Qualcomm has compared
Qualcomm's filings name street addresses, Morehouse Drive, Pacific Heights Boulevard, because California WARN captures site-level detail that most states' notices blur. The result is the most granular public map of any chipmaker's cuts in our records, and it all points at one campus.
Qualcomm layoff and severance questions
What severance does Qualcomm pay in layoffs?
Qualcomm hasn't published severance terms for any round we track. Packages arrive as individual agreements, and yours is the only version that counts.
Why are Qualcomm layoffs always in San Diego?
Because that's where Qualcomm is. The company's headquarters campus dominates its US employment, so California filings, often naming individual buildings, carry nearly all of its WARN activity, including all 21 filings since 2025 in our tracker.
Is Qualcomm cutting engineers or just support roles?
Reporting on the November 2025 round described operations, finance, and senior engineering roles affected, including several engineering VPs. Chip design roles have historically been the most protected tier, but the recent rounds reached into technical leadership.
Where do I file for unemployment after a Qualcomm layoff?
In the state where you worked, not where the company is headquartered. Qualcomm's biggest U.S. hubs are California, Colorado, New Jersey. 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?
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 Qualcomm?
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.
What to do after being laid off from Qualcomm
- File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. Qualcomm's biggest hubs: California, Colorado, New Jersey. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
- Find out in writing how long you have to review the severance agreement. 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.