Broadcom To Axe 1,200 Staff After $69 Billion VMware Acquisition

No Christmas cheer for staff at chipmaker Broadcom and VMware, after reports that large numbers of employees are to be let go.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, barely a week after completing the $69 billion acquisition of Palo Alto-based cloud computing company VMware, Broadcom has begun the process of making significant workforce reductions.

The closing of the VMware acquisition on 22 November came after the European Commission had approved the deal when Broadcom offered EU officials “interoperability remedies” relating to chip rivals such as Marvell.

The UK meanwhile had approved the deal in July, after initially opposing it, and then Chinese authorities also added their blessing, allowing the deal to close.

Job losses

Reuters reported that Broadcom will review strategic options for two business units of VMware, citing a leaked email from CEO Hock Tan to employees.

The units under review are End-User Computing and Carbon Black, but VMware will reportedly continue to operate as four units – Cloud Foundation, Tanzu, Software-Defined Edge and Application Networking and Security.

But now the San Francisco Chronicle has reported that over 2,000 people in total are slated to lose their jobs.

Indeed, more 1,200 roles considered redundant at VMware’s offices in Silicon Valley, according to a WARN notice submitted to the California Employment Development Department.

The initial separations are slated to take place on 26 January

Expected cuts

“The total number of affected employees at the location listed above is anticipated to be 1,267,” Jill Turner, Broadcom’s VP of human resources, was quoted by SF Chronicle as writing in the notice.

“This will not result in closure of the entire facility, but will only impact certain employees selected for layoff,” Turner reportedly said. “This planned action is expected to be permanent. Affected employees do not have a right to displace or bump any other employee, and they will not be recalled to work.”

Moving outside of California, approximately 600 additional positions are expected to be eliminated in Washington, Colorado and Georgia, as reportedly disclosed in regulatory filings in those states.

Employees in several other regions will also be affected.

And in an email confirmed by Business Insider, Broadcom has apparently informed impacted staffers.

In its message, the firm reportedly states, “Broadcom recently completed its acquisition of VMware. As part of integration planning, and following an organisational needs assessment, we identified go-forward roles that will be required within the combined company. We regret to inform you that your position is being eliminated, and your employment will be terminated.”

The job losses had reportedly been expected, after Broadcom had reportedly told Wall Street analysts when it first announced the VMware acquisition back in May 2022 that there would be deep cuts to VMware, with as much as $250 million in synergies being discussed.