Semiconductor company Arm is preparing to dismiss as many as 1,000 workers in the aftermath of Nvidia’s failed acquisition attempt.
In a letter to Arm employees acquired by the Daily Telegraph, CEO Rene Haas announced the coming redundancies and set out the rationale for the decision.
“To be successful in the opportunities we have ahead of us, we need to be more disciplined about our costs and where we’re investing,” Haas wrote.
“To stay competitive, we need to remove duplication of work now that we are one Arm; stop work that is no longer critical to our future success; and think about how we get work done. It’s essential that we focus on activities that will move our strategy forward at pace.”
Arm IPO
Nvidia announced the termination of its bid to acquire Arm from SoftBank Group early last month, in the face of insurmountable regulatory hurdles. Instead, SoftBank now intends to take Arm public via an IPO at some point in the next twelve months.
The previous CEO, Simon Segars, had warned that spending would have to be curtailed, if the Nvidia acquisition fell through. The job cuts at Arm can be seen as a process of trimming the fat ahead of the IPO.
After a hiring spree in the aftermath of the acquisition by SoftBank in 2016, the Arm workforce currently comprises roughly 6,400 people. The proposed job cuts, then, would represent a shrinking of the company’s workforce by as much as 15%.
According to Haas, the redundancies will predominantly affect Arm employees in the United Kingdom, where the company is based, and the United States.
In a statement provided to TechRadar Pro, Arm said the following:
“Like any business, Arm is continually reviewing its business plan to ensure the company has the right balance between opportunities and cost discipline. Unfortunately, this process includes proposed redundancies across Arm’s global workforce.”
The company declined to offer any insight into whether the redundancies are directly related to preparations for the upcoming IPO.
- Here's our list of the best business smartphones and best business tablets
