News
Networking giant rumoured to be planning cuts of up to 14,000 employees.
Cisco reportedly plans to lay off between 9,000 and 14,000 employees in a move that would reduce the networking giant’s global workforce by up to 20%.
Reports of the job cuts first originated from online news site CRN and have since been picked up by a number of different news agencies and broadsheets. CRN cited “multiple sources” close to the company as saying that the cuts could be announced in the next few weeks.
It seems that Cisco has so far declined to comment on the matter. CRN noted that the cuts are required as the company transforms its business from a hardware-focused to a software-centric organisation. This means that employees with a new set of skills are required.
CRN said the company’s headcount as of 20 April 2016 was 73,104, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Cutting 14,000 employees would be the single largest layoff in Cisco’s 32-year history, the news site added.
Bloomberg reported that Cisco will report fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday, and said analysts are predicting a 2% decline in sales to $12.6 billion.
In March this year, an internal email from Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins was published by Business Insider and revealed that the networking giant is restructuring its engineering division to focus on four areas: Networking and Market Segments; Cloud Services and Platforms; IoT and Applications; and Security.
The company also completed the acquisition of IoT platform provider Jasper in March, and bought cloud technology company CliQr in the same month.
Cisco and Ericsson also formed a strategic partnership last year and have continually fought off speculation that they plan to merge ever since.
