Cisco will cut thousands of jobs in a second round of redundancies this year to shift its focus to areas such as AI and cyber security, Reuters reports.
The US networking equipment manufacturer is set to announce plans to lay off around 4,000 employees during the company’s fourth-quarter results this week, sources at the news agency said.
In February, the firm let go of a similar number of its workforce, and also cut 4,100 workers in November 2022.
Cisco had around 84,900 employees as of July 2023, according to its annual filing – not accounting for the last set of layoffs earlier in the year.
The firm has invested a significant amount of money into artificial intelligence and security.
Almost a year ago, Cisco acquired security and observability platform Splunk for $28billion.
At the time, Cisco’s CEO, Chuck Robbins said: “Our combined capabilities will drive the next generation of AI-enabled security.”
Plus, in May, the firm reiterated its target of $1bn worth of AI product orders in 2025 – it launched a $1bn fund in June, as well, to make investments in AI startups.
Cisco joins the many big tech firms that have axed thousands of employees in the pursuit of AI. Those include Google, IBM, BT, Unilever, and Microsoft.
According to tracking website Layoffs.fyi, over 130,000 people have been made redundant across nearly 400 companies since the start of 2024.
Cisco did not immediately respond to comment.
