SAN JOSE — Cisco Systems will slash thousands of workers worldwide, a fresh jolt to a shaky Bay Area economy and an unsettling reminder that the region’s tech layoffs have yet to run their course.
The tech titan warned that it would chop 7% of its workforce, Cisco stated in a Securities and Exchange Commission that it filed Aug. 14.
“Cisco announced a restructuring plan to allow it to invest in key growth opportunities and drive more efficiencies in its business,” the company stated in the SEC filing. “This restructuring plan is expected to impact approximately 7% percent of Cisco’s global workforce.”
San Jose-based Cisco employed about 84,900 workers worldwide as of July 2023. A 7% cut from a workforce of that size would equate to roughly 5,900 employees.
The job cuts revealed on Thursday are the second round of layoffs the networking behemoth reported this year.
In February, Cisco announced plans to jettison 5% of its worldwide workforce, which equated to a loss of 4,200 jobs.
In 2023 and so far in 2024, Cisco has disclosed plans to slash 1,754 jobs in the Bay Area, according to this news organization’s compilation of official WARN notices that Cisco has sent to the state Employment Development Department.
Cisco’s February layoffs of 4,200 worldwide included job cuts of 731 Cisco workers in the Bay Area, according to a WARN notice at that time. The February cutbacks affected workers in San Jose, Milpitas and San Francisco.
Cisco said it’s starting to see encouraging signs in its operations as it attempts to depend less on its traditional computer networking businesses and shift more resources to cutting-edge endeavors such as artificial intelligence.
“We saw steady customer demand with order growth across the business as customers rely on Cisco to connect and protect all aspects of their organizations in the era of AI,” said Cisco Chief Executive Officer Chuck Robbins.
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