Arm Loses 40% of UK Staff Despite SoftBank Pledge To Grow Domestic Workforce

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Seeking Alpha: Arm, the chip design firm owned by SoftBank, has seen more than 40% of its U.K. workforce that it gained in recent years leave the company, the Financial Times reported (paywalled). SoftBank purchased Arm in 2016 for $32 billion and made a commitment to the U.K. government that it would double the company's British staff in five years, then at a level of 1,770 employees, the news outlet reported. By September 2021, U.K.-based staff had reached more than 3,500, accounting for slightly more than half of Arm's 6,950 global employees, accomplishing the goal. Since then, however, SoftBank has cut a significant portion of Arm's staff, totaling some 18%, as it readies for an initial public offering, with the U.K. taking a larger proportional hit on worries over the company's future, the news outlet reported, citing former Arm employees. Currently, Arm has 2,800 U.K.-based employees, meaning 700 U.K. employees have left the company. Led by Masayoshi Son, SoftBank is intent on listing Arm via an initial public offering and has been lobbied by British lawmakers to list it in London, as well as New York. However, SoftBank reportedly scrapped its plans for a London listing in July.

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