Broadcom to cut 184 Broomfield jobs days after $61B VMWare acquisition

BROOMFIELD — Less than a week after Broadcom Inc. (Nasdaq: AVGO) closed on a $61 billion deal to acquire software and virtualization company VMware Inc., the California-based technology firm informed Colorado regulators that it will lay off 184 VMware workers in Broomfield. 

The layoffs appear to be part of a broader job-elimination and cost-cutting effort across the newly combined company, media reports show. 

The 184 Colorado employees who will lose their jobs beginning in January 2024 work at 380 Interlocken Crescent Blvd. in Broomfield, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice filed Monday with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. The WARN Act requires at least 60 days advance notification of layoffs for companies that meet certain criteria.

The layoffs “will not result in closure of the entire facility, but will only impact certain employees selected for layoff. This planned action is expected to be permanent,” the Broadcom WARN letter said. “Affected employees do not have a right to displace or bump any other employee, and they will not be recalled to work. None of the employees is represented by a union.”

WARN filings typically include a list of the job titles held by workers who are being laid off. The initial Broadcom filing did not, nor did the company immediately respond to request for comment Monday afternoon. 

VMWare, which gained prominence for developing technology that allows Windows operating systems to be used on Mac computers, planted its flag in Broomfield’s Interlocken business park in 2008, according to a Denver Post report from the time, leasing about 50,000 square feet of office space. The company told the newspaper that it planned to employ about 300 workers there. 

In 2016, VMware axed 800 workers across its global operations, including an unspecified number in Broomfield and Colorado Springs, the Post reported at the time. 

Broadcom said last week that its absorption of VMWare is in furtherance of its efforts to “enable enterprise customers to create and modernize their private and hybrid cloud environments. At the core, Broadcom will invest in VMware Cloud Foundation, the software stack that serves as the foundation of private and hybrid clouds.”

As a result of the merger, which was recently given final approval by Chinese regulators, VMware’s operations are being restructured and sliced into four divisions, according to reports from software industry publications. The company’s CEO Raghu Raghuram left last week when the acquisition by Broadcom closed. 

“We are excited to welcome VMware to Broadcom and bring together our engineering-first, innovation-centric teams as we take another important step forward in building the world’s leading infrastructure technology company,” Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said in a statement last week. “With a shared focus on customer success, together we are well positioned to enable global enterprises to embrace private and hybrid cloud environments, making them more secure and resilient. Broadcom has a long track record of investing in the businesses we acquire to drive sustainable growth, and that will continue with VMware for the benefit of the stakeholders we serve.”

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