Qualcomm Layoffs: What to Do With Your Equity Before You Sign

On October 20th, 2026, Reuters reported that Qualcomm will cut jobs in what CEO Cristiano Amon described as a “performance-focused reduction,” following the company’s annual employee reviews, with notifications beginning in November. The company has not said how many roles are affected.

If you spend your days on Morehouse Drive or in Sorrento Valley, and a real share of your pay arrives as equity rather than salary, this is worth your attention for one reason. The decisions that cost the most after a layoff are rarely the obvious ones. They are settled in the paperwork you are asked to sign in the first few days, and most of them turn on your equity and your tax year.

Here is what actually matters, in the order it tends to arrive.

Your unvested equity is usually gone the day you leave

In most plans, unvested RSUs are forfeited on your termination date, and the standard grant agreement does not treat a layoff any differently from quitting. Before you sign a separation agreement, find out exactly how many unvested shares you would give up and what they are worth today. That is the number most people never ask for.

Some plans or packages accelerate a portion of unvested equity, and acceleration is occasionally negotiable as part of a separation. It is the exception rather than the rule, so read your own grant agreement instead of assuming. If you hold vested stock options, there is usually a limited window to exercise them after your last day, often around ninety days, and letting it lapse forfeits them.

This is also the moment the concentration question comes due. If a large part of your net worth has quietly become Qualcomm stock, a separation forces a decision you may have been deferring. We wrote about that trade-off in RSU Vesting: To Hold or To Fold, the Qualcomm Concentration Trap.

A performance-based cut may not come with severance

This matters with Qualcomm’s announcement specifically. A reduction tied to performance reviews does not always include the same severance a broad cost-cut would, and it may not carry the same notice. So do not assume a package is coming. The equity and tax questions here apply either way. The severance questions apply only if you are offered one.

The tax year you are in may have just changed

If you do receive severance, the IRS treats it as supplemental wages. Paid on its own, it is withheld at a flat 22 percent federally on amounts up to one million dollars in the year, and 37 percent above that (IRS Publication 15, 2026). For a high earner, 22 percent is well below the rate you actually owe.

Stack severance on top of RSUs that vested earlier in the year and your regular pay, and you can be under-withheld across the board, not only on the severance. The gap shows up when you file, sometimes with an underpayment penalty on top. The 22 percent is a withholding rate, not the tax you owe. Running the real number now, while there is still time to set money aside, beats finding out in April.

If a package has you thinking about retiring early

For some people, especially later in their career, a separation check turns “someday” into “maybe now.” That is a real question, but it is a different one, and the healthcare bridge to Medicare and the rules for reaching retirement accounts before 59½ are where it is won or lost. We walked through that evaluation in The Qualcomm Buyout: Can You Actually Afford Early Retirement?.

The short checklist

Before you sign, get clear answers to these:

Your exact last day. Every equity and option window counts from it.
Vested versus unvested. How many shares you keep, and how many you forfeit.
Acceleration. Whether the agreement vests any unvested equity, and whether it is negotiable.
Option windows. How long you have to exercise vested options after your last day.
Severance terms, if any. How and when it is paid, and how it will be taxed.
Health coverage. When current coverage ends and what replaces it.
Anything you cannot change after signing. The release is where most of this gets locked.

Where to start

A general article can explain the mechanics. It cannot tell you what your own grant agreement says, which is where the decision actually gets made.

We put together a plain-English checklist that covers what to handle before you sign, the first thirty days, and the tax side: the Layoff Equity and Severance Checklist. For the broader framework we use with San Diego tech professionals, including how equity, taxes, and retirement timing fit together, see our Qualcomm wealth strategy page, where you can also schedule a complimentary consultation.

FAQ

I was laid off from Qualcomm. Do I lose my unvested RSUs?

Usually, yes. In most plans, unvested RSUs are forfeited on your termination date, and a standard grant agreement treats a layoff the same as quitting. The exceptions are a plan that accelerates some vesting on an involuntary termination, or a separation package that negotiates acceleration, and neither is the default. Before you sign anything, read your own grant agreement and ask, in writing, exactly how many unvested shares you would forfeit and what they are worth.

Does a performance-based layoff come with severance?

Not always. A reduction tied to performance reviews does not automatically carry the same severance, or the same notice, that a broad cost-driven layoff might. Treat a package as something to confirm, not assume. The equity and tax-year decisions in this post apply whether or not you are offered severance. The severance-specific questions only apply if you are.

Why was my severance only taxed at 22 percent?

That 22 percent is a withholding rate, not your actual tax. The IRS treats severance as supplemental wages, withheld at a flat 22 percent on amounts up to one million dollars in the year and 37 percent above that (IRS Publication 15, 2026). For a high earner, 22 percent usually falls short of the rate you owe, and stacking severance onto RSUs that already vested this year can leave you under-withheld across your whole return. The shortfall shows up at filing, sometimes with an underpayment penalty, which is why it is worth running the real number before year-end.

Can I still exercise my Qualcomm stock options after my last day?

For a limited time, usually. Vested options typically carry a post-termination exercise window, often around ninety days from your last day, and letting it lapse forfeits them. The exact length is in your grant agreement, so confirm it rather than assuming ninety days. Unvested options generally forfeit at termination the same way unvested RSUs do.

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