LONDON -- U.K. chip designer Arm has plans to eliminate up to 1,000 jobs in a cost-cutting move as the SoftBank Group-owned company prepares for an initial public offering.
"Like any business, Arm is continually reviewing its business plan to ensure the company has the right balance between opportunities and cost discipline," an Arm spokesperson said in a statement to Nikkei.
"Unfortunately, this process includes proposed redundancies across Arm's global workforce," the company added.
The proposed staff cuts were announced a month after SoftBank abandoned a deal to sell Arm to U.S. chipmaker Nvidia. SoftBank Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son has described the planned Arm listing as "the largest IPO in semiconductor history."
Arm said if approved, the cuts would affect "around 12-15%" of the global workforce. Arm employs 6,400 workers worldwide, and 15% would amount to 1,000 people.
SoftBank purchased Arm in 2016 for 24 billion pounds ($31 billion) and delisted the firm. The terms of the acquisition deal called for doubling Arm's U.K. staff over five years. That period expired last year.
In September 2020, SoftBank agreed to sell Arm to Nvidia for $40 billion. The deal included a transaction of shares that would have made SoftBank a top Nvidia shareholder.
But after the transaction showed little chance of regulatory approval, SoftBank and Nvidia ultimately walked away from the deal in February.
