Cisco layoffs: Company to cut jobs of 6,000 employees amid AI pivot

Cisco layoffs: This is the second time that the tech company has announced layoffs this year. Earlier in February, Cisco had laid off close to 4,000 employees.

Cisco is planning to cut 7% of its global workforce, the company said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This is the second time that the tech company has announced layoffs this year. Earlier in February, Cisco had laid off close to 4,000 employees.

Cisco layoffs: The Cisco logo is displayed in front of Cisco headquarters in San Jose, California.(AFP)

“Cisco announced a restructuring plan to allow it to invest in key growth opportunities and drive more efficiencies in its business. This restructuring plan is expected to impact approximately 7 percent of Cisco’s global workforce,” the company said in the filing.

Cisco plans to cut costs by $1 billion through layoffs and other measures, it reported in the filing. The process would consist of severance and other one-time termination benefits as well as additional other costs as the company noted, “Cisco expects to recognise approximately $700 million to $800 million of these charges in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 with the remaining amount expected to be recognised during the rest of fiscal 2025."

This comes as Cisco has committed $1 billion in June to invest in AI startups including Cohere, Mistral, and Scale to develop robust AI solutions. Cisco also announced a partnership with Nvidia to build advanced infrastructure for AI systems and has expanded its focus to cybersecurity.

The tech industry has seen a wave of layoffs in 2024. Recently, Intel announced 15,000 job cuts while big tech companies, including Microsoft, Amazon and Google have also trimmed their workforce.