- Cisco is reportedly planning to announce thousands of layoffs
- The company is restructuring to focus on high-growth areas
- Network giant has a total number of employees of 84,900
Cisco plans to restructure its operations, laying off thousands of employees, as it focuses on high-growth areas, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
The San Jose, California-based networking giant will have a total of 84,900 employees in fiscal 2023, according to its website.
The company is still deciding the total number of employees who will be affected by the layoffs, one person said.
An announcement could come as early as next week as the company prepares for its Feb. 14 earnings call.
In November 2022, Cisco announced a restructuring during an earnings call that affected about 5 percent of its workforce, leading to $600 million in severance and other costs.
Cisco plans to restructure its operations, laying off thousands of employees, as it focuses on high-growth areas, sources told Reuters.
Cisco declined to comment.
The move would come as technology companies including telecom makers Nokia and Ericsson cut thousands of jobs last year in a bid to cut costs.
Several major tech companies such as Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft have implemented layoffs in recent weeks, bringing the .
Other tech and media companies, including eBay, TikTok and the Los Angeles Times, have all recently announced layoffs.
Just this week, Snap, owner of the social media app Snapchat, announced it would cut its workforce by 10 percent.
Outside of technology and media, UPS, Macy’s and Levi’s have also recently cut jobs.
But despite the high-profile job losses, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week.
Claims for unemployment benefits fell by 9,000 to 218,000 in the week ending Feb. 3, the Department of Labor reported Thursday.
Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins is seen above. The company is reportedly the latest tech company to consider layoffs, following recent cuts at Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft
Weekly unemployment claims are considered a measure of the number of layoffs in the U.S. in a given week.
They have remained at extraordinarily low levels despite efforts by the US Federal Reserve to cool the economy.
Cisco had lowered its full-year revenue and profit forecasts in its previous earnings call, in a sign that demand for its networking equipment was slowing.
The company had attributed the weakness to a slowdown in orders in the first quarter, saying that “customers are currently focused on installing and deploying products in their environments.”
The company has faced supply chain issues and a post-pandemic demand slowdown in recent years, accelerating its move into software offerings such as cybersecurity.