Qualcomm will cut jobs globally in a "performance-focused reduction" following its annual employee reviews, CEO Cristiano Amon told staff in a memo on Monday reviewed by Reuters, with notifications set to begin in November.
The cuts are part of an effort to build "a stronger performance culture" and address situations where the company "has consistently fallen short of expectations," Amon said.
The memo did not say how many jobs would be affected, and Reuters could not immediately determine the scale of the cuts.
Qualcomm did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It had about 52,000 employees globally as of September last year, most of them full-time. Its financial year typically ends in late September.
One of the world's biggest smartphone chipmakers, Qualcomm has been hit this year by a slump in consumer electronics sales as soaring memory prices weigh on demand in key markets.