Broadcom's confirmed VMware cuts surpass 2,000 as Massachusetts, NY disclose layoffs
Broadcom has still not said how many of VMware’s 38,000 employees it plans to cut now that the deal is closed, but state-by-state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) disclosures show the layoffs have surpassed 2,000.
The total number of confirmed VMware jobs cut by Broadcom have amounted to 2,149 a little more than a week after the chipmaker closed its $6bn deal for the virtualisation all-star.
In New York state, Broadcom this week said it planned to eliminate 169 jobs across four facilities. The disclosures are only required in the US states where VMware, now operating under Broadcom, has physical offices.
In California, where the company's Palo Alto headquarters spans 29 acres with 460,000 square feet of office space, Broadcom is cutting 1,267 jobs. According to a WARN letter sent to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Broadcom would eliminate 184 jobs in that state, while Georgia state records show Broadcom will cull 217 jobs there. Meanwhile, in Massachusetts the company disclosed it would begin 154 VMware layoffs in Boston.
According to Washington State data, Broadcom will eliminate 158 jobs from Bellevue, beginning in January. And late Friday, Texas added hundreds more to the total, with Broadcom disclosing 577 layoffs from that state.
Broadcom has not responded to several email requests for comment and details on the job cuts, but analysts expect the actions have a financial impact of $25m.
Speaking to CRN, one former VMware employee now with Broadcom said even internally, the company has not said how many VMware workers would be let go, but it appears to be many times higher than the state disclosures have so far revealed.
"It's hard to say," said the employee who asked not to be identified. "However if you take the projected savings and divide by $175,000 average per employee, 21,000 is the indicated final number over time."
The latest job cut disclosures follow Broadcom's closing of its $61bn acquisition of VMware last week, which also saw Broadcom take on $8bn of VMware debt. With the close of the deal, VMware CEO Raghu Raghuram stepped aside, and Broadcom split the VMware business into four parts, each with a separate leader.
Also leaving was VMware President Sumit Dhawan, who left to become CEO of cybersecurity company Proofpoint. Dhawan will begin as the new Proofpoint CEO "effective immediately," the company announced Tuesday.
With the sale done, Broadcom told channel partners to stop commingling sales with products from Carbon Black and VMware End User Group. According to an email obtained by CRN and first reported here, Broadcom will begin looking for "strategic alternatives" to both of those businesses.
Broadcom's stock has climbed 59 per cent, or $346.68 per share, in the 18 months since it announced plans to buy VMware. As of Friday afternoon, Broadcom was trading at $930.24.