Qualcomm UK engineers under threat

Mobile phone chip maker Qualcomm is considering laying off up to 40 engineers at its Cambridge labs, an insider has revealed.

According to our source, staff at the site on Cambridge science park have been told they could be made redundant at the end of March as part of a cost cuts. The layoffs will come as a blow to the city's high tech cluster.

Qualcomm spokesman Richard Tinkler confirmed it was "reviewing a number of positions", in "an effort to operate as efficiently as possible". He said the firm is committed to "maintaining a presence" in Cambridge, however.

Tinkler declined to provide further details "due to the sensitive nature of this issue".

Our source said the Cambridge layoffs will be part of the same global cuts that will see 73 staff axed with the closure of an office in Oregon.

Reductions in research and development spending were trailed by Qualcomm chief in November.

"We've had this fairly dramatic growth in research and design over the last couple of years and we've got a lot of people," said CEO Paul Jacobs. "We don't plan to do a major layoff across the company, but we have contingency plans in case the economy gets worse." ®