Arm China eliminated about 70 software engineering roles in the mainland as part of a restructuring to improve support for local developers, Bloomberg reported.

About 15 of those to be released will be offered different positions outside of China, the news agency added.

The unit is the exclusive distribution channel for UK-based chip-design company Arm to licence its IP to companies in China.

Arm China accounted for about 20 per cent of its parent’s total revenue in its fiscal Q2 (ending 30 September), down from 25 per cent a year earlier, which the company said was due to faster growth in its operations outside of China.

The company has a couple of hundred customers in China.

The retrenchment comes less than a year after Arm China cut its workforce by more than 100 in February 2023, after booking a sharp profit decline in 2022.

Its parent reported its first post-IPO earnings in November, registering a loss of $110 million stemming from one-off expenses related to the listing. Revenue rose 28 per cent to $806 million, with royalty revenue down 5 per cent to $418 million due to weaker smartphone sales.