Cisco to lay off 5% of global workforce

Tech company Cisco has announced that it will be laying off roughly five per cent of its global workforce as part of a restructuring plan within the organization.

Cisco said the plan seeks to "realign the organization and enable further investment in key priority areas."

The company did not disclose further details on who exactly will be laid off.

It would also cost the organization nearly $800 million, stemming from severance and other one-time termination benefits and other costs, according to its Second Quarter Earnings report.

The company has about 84,900 employees as of July last year, based on its 2023 annual report, where 47.6% are in the United States and 52.4% are spread out across the world.

The layoffs came as Cisco also unveiled a $12.8 billion revenue in its Second Quarter Earnings report, which noted that it was down six per cent year over year. 

Growing number of companies doing layoffs

Cisco now joins a growing list of organisations across the world that are announcing layoffs early this year, including the UPS, eBay, Riot Games, Snap, Estee Lauder, Warner Music, among others.

They confirm the fears of employers and employees alike who believe their organisation will likely lay off staff in 2024, extending by another year the widespread retrenchments carried out by companies worldwide in the past years.

A majority of employers cited their need to reduce costs as the top reason for laying off staff this year. Others attributed it to anticipation of an incoming recession, desire to increase profits, and replacing employees with AI.