An engineering graduate who spent years preparing for a career in the technology sector has lost his job at Qualcomm amid reported layoffs in India. The employee had earlier turned down a non-technical
job offer, prepared for GATE and completed an MTech from IIT Hyderabad before securing a campus placement at the chipmaker with a package of over Rs 26 lakh.
His experience was shared by an X user, bringing attention to the uncertainty faced by young engineers even after years of hard work and a strong start to their careers.
Engineer Chose GATE Preparation Over A Non-Tech Job
Sharing his friend’s experience, X user Vikas Alwys wrote: “My friend got affected by Qualcomm layoffs.” According to Vikas, his friend had received a non-technical job offer from Sutherland while pursuing his BTech.
However, he decided not to take it and instead spent a year preparing for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). His efforts helped him secure a rank of around 1,100 in the examination.
He then got admission to IIT Hyderabad, where he pursued an MTech in Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI), a field related to semiconductor chip design. After completing the two-year course, he secured a campus placement at Qualcomm.
The offer included a base salary of Rs 18 lakh per year, while the total cost to company (CTC) was more than Rs 26 lakh. Despite reaching his career goal after years of preparation, he was among those affected by the company’s reported job cuts.
“This guy studied really hard and got placed at Qualcomm through campus placements,” Vikas wrote, adding that his friend had now been laid off. He also shared his concerns about the current state of the technology job market, writing: “IT is getting worse now… It looks like ‘Never Settle’.”
My friend got affected by Qualcomm layoffs.
You know, he got this job after taking a one-year drop to get into IIT through the GATE exam, and then spending two years pursuing his https://t.co/Qf7c89gCIV.
During his https://t.co/YSvOF5fxhn, he got a non-tech job at Sutherland. Instead of joining it, he prepared for the GATE exam and cleared it with around a 1,100 rank. He then joined IIT Hyderabad for https://t.co/Qf7c89gCIV in VLSI.
This guy studied really hard and got placed at Qualcomm through campus placements, with an 18 LPA base salary and a CTC of 26 LPA+.
Now he has been laid off.
IT is getting worse now…It looks like “Never Settle”
— Vikas Alwys (@VikasAlwys) November 10, 2026
Qualcomm Layoffs Reportedly Affect Around 1,000 Jobs In India
The incident comes as Qualcomm reportedly begins reducing its workforce in India. Around 1,000 roles are said to be at risk, though the company has not confirmed the final number of affected employees.
Qualcomm has around 20,000 employees across India, with offices in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi NCR and Chennai. The reported cuts follow an internal message from CEO Cristiano Amon, who described the move as a “performance-focused reduction.”
Employee notifications were expected to begin in November after the company’s annual performance reviews. According to reports, Qualcomm did not confirm the number of jobs affected in India and declined to comment when approached by India Today Tech.
The company is also reportedly expected to carry out another round of layoffs in January 2027.
Disclaimer: This article is based on user-generated content. The claims made in the original post have not been independently verified by News18.
