Can't lay off the layoffs?

Local telecommunications company Qualcomm laid off some 1300 San Diegans recently in an effort to repair the damage wrought by plummeting sales. Critics have called the move “unfortunate” from a publicity standpoint, given the boatloads of cash recently thrown at Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton by both the company and its founder. “Was it really more important to hear Madame Secretary speak than to pay my salary for three years?” complains Steve Jobless, a downsized software engineer embittered by the $335,000 fee paid to Clinton for a 2014 speech at a company retreat. “And if Irwin Jacobs is wondering what to do with his millions, well, I can think of some more practical suggestions than funding her political campaign.”

Maybe, maybe not. SD on the QT has obtained a letter from current Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf to Ms. Clinton that may shed some light on the company’s interest in her success. Regarding the layoffs, Mollenkopf writes:

“I know it’s the wrong thing to do. I know that being a good Democrat means standing up for the little guy, making sure he doesn’t get laid off just to please some greedy shareholder who lives for the bottom line. America only works when Americans have work — I know that. But I just can’t help myself. When that mean old Board of Governors comes calling, I know I have to hit my quarterly projections, or it’s me who will be out of a job. And how does that help anyone?

“So, I lay off another few thousand employees and try to focus on the future. But don’t think I don’t think about it. There are nights when I can’t sleep. The indoor waterfall in my master suite, the 50-year Scotch, the zero-gravity mattress from NASA, the surgical-strength anesthetic prescribed by my personal physician — none of it works. All I can think about are those poor middle-class families: their children being forced to attend community colleges, their retirement plans stagnating in relation to cost of living increases, their trips to Disneyland turning into board-game-ridden staycations. It’s too horrible.

“But I also know this: it’s up to the government to fix this problem. That’s why Qualcomm, from its founder to its Corporate Hospitality Team, is so eager to give you cash. It’s all so you can win the presidency. And when you do, you can put an end to this endless cycle of greed and exploitation. You can destroy the cancer that is corporate America, Hillary. You can restore the middle class that made this country great. All you need is the courage to do it. Don’t see this cash as Qualcomm’s political capital. See it as the self-destruct button that we’re too weak to push ourselves.”