Another tech company has been forced to bite the layoff bullet.
Cisco Systems is slashing more than 4,000 employees – roughly 5% of its worldwide workforce – and is joining the parade of technology companies in a trend that has helped boost their profits and stock prices while providing a sobering reminder of the job insecurity hanging over an industry increasingly embracing artificial intelligence, the Associated Press is reporting.
The layoffs announced Wednesday came in conjunction with Cisco’s latest quarterly results and represent about 5% of its worldwide workforce of 84,900.
The move comes after Cisco shed 5,000 workers in late 2022, and ahead of its $28 billion acquisition of Splunk, a deal that management now expects to complete by April 30, according to AP.
Cisco — a company best known for making much of the technology that connects the internet — expects its reorganization to cost an additional $800 million.
Layoffs have hit other prominent tech companies, including Google and Amazon, both of which have trimmed their once-steadily growing payrolls multiple times since the end of 2022.
The companies are making the cuts even though they appear to still be making big money. For instance, San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco, earned $2.6 billion, or 65 cents per share, during its fiscal second quarter covering October-January, a 5% decrease from the same time during the previous year. Revenue for the period fell 6% from the prior year to $12.8 billion, the AP reported.
Cisco isn’t the first tech firm to do this kind of streamlining. These layoffs follow similar actions at Microsoft, TikTok, Riot Games, eBay and PayPal, in addition to both Google and Alphabet.
