Broadcom plans to cull VMware staff after $61bn merger closes - report

The rumours circulate following Broadcom’s statement around VMware's cloud strategy

Broadcom is reportedly planning to make major layoffs at VMware as its $61bn acquisition of the cloud company nears the ribbon cutting ceremony.

According to sources speaking to Business Insider, the Broadcom cuts are expected to focus on non-engineering roles.

It is speculated that layoffs could come as early as the end of this month after both companies publish their latest earnings results.

The reports come hot on the heels of a heavily redacted document filed with the Competition and Markets Authority that argued VMware will fail to execute its multi-cloud strategy alone.

The UK regulator gave the deal its stamp of approval last month after the blockbuster merger was given the green light in Europe.

The 40-page document makes the case for a marriage between Broadcom and VMware, with the former arguing that the acquisition of VMware will form an organisation capable of creating competition for hyperscale clouds, which VMware can't do alone.

"VMware has a strong core technology and operates in a proven and growing market for enterprise workloads. But VMware's own internal documents describe its market position as a [REDACTED]," the document reads.

"Broadcom believes it can provide VMware with the scale and capabilities to reverse this trend. Broadcom plans to win more enterprise workloads by [REDACTED]. With time and investment, Broadcom's objective is to enable enterprises more easily to deploy workloads across cloud environments (both private and public) and to move workloads among those environments.

"In short, Broadcom intends to execute Phases 2 and 3 of VMware's growth plan that VMware has failed to do and is unable to achieve alone."

Broadcom has been contacted for comment.