Arm to axe up to 1,000 jobs after Nvidia deal collapses

Trade union calls on government support to protect British jobs and research within the semiconductor industry

Trade

Image: Shutterstock via Dennis

15 March 2022

UK chipmaker Arm has revealed plans to cut up 15% of its workforce just weeks after the collapse of its sale to Nvidia.

The Cambridge-based company said that most of the losses, which could be as many as 1,000 jobs, will be in the UK and the US, according to the Guardian.

Arm has more than 6,500 employees around the world, with 3,000 in the UK, mainly at its Cambridge campus. In a statement, the firm said that it was constantly reviewing its business plan to “ensure the company has the right balance between opportunities and cost discipline”.

Unfortunately, that process also includes potential redundancies across its global workforce.

This latest announcement is in stark contrast to Nvidia’s acquisition plans, which included investment into Arm’s Cambridge hub and mass job creation. Those plans were scuppered in February, as the deal fell through due to multiple regulatory hurdles.

Within the semiconductor industry, there has always been a sense that Arm and its parent company Softbank needed the takeover more than Nvidia did. The £30 billion deal would have been the largest acquisition in the chip industry to date and its potential effect on rivals was too hard for regulators to ignore. Softbank is now reverting to an initial public offering as it seeks to cash in on Arm.

However, the latest development from Arm will send shockwaves to thousands of employees now worried about their jobs, according to Mike Clancy, the general secretary of trade union Prospect. The company is one of the most prominent providers of high-quality tech jobs in the UK and its decision will be felt throughout the industry.

“We always knew there was a risk once the sale to Nvidia fell through that the company would seek to restructure or cut costs,” Clancy said. “We urgently need leadership from government now to protect British jobs and British research and development spending.”

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