Splunk to lay off 7% of workforce, ahead of $28 billion Cisco acquisition

Splunk announced on Wednesday it is laying off nearly 7% due to the challenges posed by an uncertain global economic situation in the cybersecurity and cloud software industry. As of January 31, Splunk boasted 8,000 employees and approximately 560 employees are expected to be affected by these layoffs.

The news comes just a month after Cisco acquired the cybersecurity firm in an all-cash deal valued at $28 billion in a strategic move aimed at bolstering its software division and tapping into the growing demand for artificial intelligence. The deal is the biggest acquisition in the history of a four-decade-old network giant.

Gary Steele, the CEO, addressed the situation in an email to the staff, acknowledging the industry’s retraction and the ongoing unpredictability of the macroeconomic landscape. He emphasized the expectation of continued volatility for the foreseeable future, expressing his concerns about the market’s stability, just a month before the upcoming quarterly results.

“The overall market has retracted and we expect the macro environment will continue to be unpredictable for the foreseeable future,” Steele in an email sent to employees.

Steele also clarified that this reorganization is not directly linked to the deal with Cisco Systems in September, where Cisco aimed to acquire Splunk for around $28 billion.

Splunk is a machine learning analytics company that produces software for searching, monitoring, and analyzing machine-generated big data. Funded in 2004 by Erik Swan, Michael Baum, and Rob Das, the San Francisco, California-based Splunk is the market leader in analyzing machine data to deliver Operational Intelligence for security, IT, and business.

Splunk software provides the enterprise machine data fabric that drives digital transformation. More than 12,000 customers in over 110 countries use Splunk solutions in the cloud and on-premises.