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The
layoffs come as SoftBank tries to set up a public listing for
Arm this year. The China market has been a major source of
growth, although a two-year management dispute at the joint
venture that resulted in the ousting of the former CEO created
some challenges.
Two of the sources said those who lost their jobs were mostly
engineers in research and development. Before the layoffs, Arm
China had about 700 employees; there were no layoffs last year
when parent Arm Ltd had global layoffs affecting up to 15% of
its workforce, according to one of the sources.
Arm China declined to comment.
Last year's layoffs came after Nvidia Corp failed to take over
Arm because of regulatory hurdles. The collapse of the sale
marked a major setback for SoftBank's efforts to generate funds
when valuations across its portfolio are under pressure.
Arm China is the exclusive distributor of Arm licenses in China.
It collects payments, and sends them to Arm Ltd, which delivers
the technology directly to customers.
One of the sources said some customers are concerned about Arm
potentially changing how it charges royalties, as well as
U.S.-China geopolitical tensions that could cut off access to
Arm technology.
Chinese companies, including Huawei Group and Alibaba, have been
restricted from using some of Arm's technology in recent years.
(Reporting By Jane Lanhee Lee in Oakland, Calif, Josh Horwitz in
Shanghai and Stephen Nellis; Editing by Gerry Doyle)
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