Qualcomm Lays Off About 700 Employees

Wireless communications company Qualcomm Inc. has laid off about 700 employees as part of a broader cost-cutting plan. Most of the job cuts hit the San Diego-based company’s money-losing wireless infrastructure business, and about 220 of the affected positions are held by temporary employees, the company said. In addition, 250 employees from the infrastructure division were “redeployed” to other divisions. Qualcomm said it will incur a one-time charge of as much as $20 million in the current quarter. Qualcomm, which has grown rapidly over the last few years, will have 10,500 employees when the cutbacks are complete. Qualcomm shares fell 75 cents to close at $62.63 on Nasdaq.