Synaptics is laying off dozens of employees from its development center in Herzliya

The American company Synaptics is laying off dozens of employees from its development center in Herzliya, out of a workforce of about 100 people. The move in Israel is part of a global cutback move at Synaptics.
The company's development center in Israel is based on the purchase of the Israeli chip company DSPG for $550 million in 2021.

Shortly after that, the company significantly reduced its operations in Israel and laid off approximately 40% of DSPG's employees in Israel - including the closure of a development center in Karmiel. Since then, the development center has operated under the management of Hagai Eboudi, and in 2022, Synaptics also acquired the Israeli company Emza.
Synaptics develops chips and software for human-computer interfaces, including touch surfaces and biometric identification components, and is considered a technological pioneer in these fields. Today it also focuses on solutions and chips for end devices, IOT (internet of things), automotive, audio and video.
It appears that the current cut is mainly focused on the activities of DSPG, whose main field of activity is chips and microcontrollers, among other things for end devices in a smart home, such as smart speakers. The main activity in Israel will be around Emza's products, which include sensing and video solutions for end devices and cameras.
At Synaptics, this technology is called "human presence detection (HPD)", which allows laptops, for example, to detect if the user is near them, and if he moves away - the computer enters a low-voltage state. Synaptics previously announced that Emza technology had entered Dell and Panasonic computers.
Synaptics stated in response: "We continue to invest in the Israeli development site in diverse technologies while focusing on the Human Present Detection (HPD) business and will continue to promote the building of MCU (microcontroller) capabilities. At the same time, we acknowledge inquiries regarding the latest changes in our company, understand the significant impact of these changes on our employees and we are committed to supporting them in the process. These decisions were not taken lightly and reflect a readjustment of our resources and investments. Synaptics' main goal is to position the company for long-term success while maintaining essential key elements."
The company is currently trading at a value of 3.46 billion dollars after its stock has decreased by about 21% in the last 12 months. In the reports for the quarter that ended in May, the company reported revenues of 237 million dollars, a 27% decrease compared to the corresponding quarter last year. In the last three quarters, the company's revenues are almost at a complete standstill.