Qualcomm Cuts 700 Jobs, Sees Weak Quarter

Qualcomm Inc. said it is cutting 700 temporary jobs and that second-quarter earnings will fall short of first-quarter levels due mainly to canceled orders from South Korea customers. The San Diego-based communications company did not detail how much earnings would fall. In the first quarter the company reported earnings of $36.7 million, or 50 cents per diluted share, on revenues of $785.8 million. In the comparable year-ago quarter it posted profit of $16.7 million, or 23 cents. The company said the 700 temporary manufacturing jobs will be cut this week. The job cuts were attributed to the change in mix between its Q phone, with its higher labor content, and the QCP portable phones, with their lower labor content, and to ongoing cost improvements and increased manufacturing efficiencies. Qualcomm said two Korean manufacturers have partially canceled or postponed second-quarter orders of application-specific integrated circuits. Trading of Qualcomm shares was halted on Nasdaq.