Cisco to lay off thousands of workers in second round of job cuts

Cisco is laying off thousands of jobs in a second round of job cuts this year as the U.S. networking equipment giant shifts its focus to faster-growing sectors like cybersecurity and AI, Reuters reported over the weekend.

Sources familiar with the situation told Reuters that the upcoming job cuts may affect a similar number of employees—or even more—than the 4,000 jobs eliminated by Cisco in February. The official announcement is expected to align with the company’s fourth-quarter financial results, set for release on August 14.

“The number of people affected could be similar to or slightly higher than the 4,000 employees Cisco laid off in February, and will likely be announced as early as Wednesday with the company’s fourth-quarter results, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly, Reuters reported.

As of July 2023, Cisco, based in San Jose, California, employed approximately 84,900 people. This figure does not include those impacted by the February layoffs. Reuters previously broke the news about Cisco’s earlier job cuts before the company made it public.

Cisco’s decision to downsize follows a broader trend among tech giants. Earlier this month, Intel revealed plans to lay off 17,500 employees, accounting for more than 15% of its workforce, as it tries to revive its struggling semiconductor business.

The tech industry, along with crypto exchanges, financial firms, and banks, has been trimming its workforce and slowing hiring in response to economic challenges like recession fears, inflation, and rising interest rates.

Data from Layoffs.FYI, a site tracking tech industry layoffs, shows that over 384 tech companies have cut a total of 124,517 jobs so far this year.