Qualcomm server chip unit layoffs: May account for half the number of employees in the department

On the morning of June 15th, Beijing time, the Qualcomm data center chip division cut about 280 employees. Originally Qualcomm invested heavily in the server market, but now it cuts expenditures to please shareholders. According to documents submitted by Qualcomm, in North Carolina In Raleigh, NA, the Qualcomm Design Center will cut 241 positions. In addition, 43 jobs will be eliminated in California.

Informed sources said that the number of presidents (including those not mentioned in the document) accounted for one-third to one-half of the total number of employees in the server chip division. Prior to Qualcomm’s promise, there would be about 1500 cuts in the entire company. Employee.

Qualcomm evaluated the future opportunities of data center business and thought that it would take too long to occupy a place in the server chip market. Now the main goal of Qualcomm's server chip division is to be a cloud computing center and Chinese customers (such as Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu). Providing chips. Qualcomm will provide chips to Chinese customers through joint ventures in China. Qualcomm has also negotiated with potential investors and buyers, but ultimately decided to retain the department, but changed the strategy. Qualcomm president Christian Omon ( Cristiano Amon stated in the statement: 'Qualcomm will continue to look for development opportunities in the data center market and will not abandon these assets. In the data center business unit, we will cut back on investment, but will continue to retain our joint venture in China and reorient research and development. , Preparing for the upcoming computer. '

The entire server chip market is about $14 billion, and Intel has a 99% share. Because Intel has an absolute advantage, most of the industry's software is written for Intel chips. If you want to compete with Intel, ARM technology providers must Make sure there is enough software to run your chip.

Since 2015, Qualcomm's revenue has been declining every year, and is expected to decrease by 5% in fiscal year 2018. Omon believes that the opportunity of the server chip unit lies in the high-energy-consumption chip of the cell site, which is a key component of the cellular base station. It provides processing capabilities for mobile phones over wireless connections. Own said that with this chip support, mobile phones can join VR/AR capabilities to provide an unparalleled experience that can now only be implemented using a PC.