After announcing in August that it would be implementing a second wave of job cutbacks this year, Cisco has started to lay off thousands of workers. The commencement of the layoffs came after weeks of uncertainty and affected 5,600 individuals, or 7% of the company’s workforce. Approximately one month after the IT firm submitted its intentions to the SEC, employees were apparently informed this week. Talos Security, Cisco’s threat intelligence and security research branch, is one of those affected; as part of a strategic reorganization, it has significantly reduced its employment.

Second Round of Layoffs Affects Employees at Cisco

The most recent wave of layoffs comes after a round of job cutbacks in February that resulted in the loss of almost 4,000 workers. Employees were put in a state of uncertainty by this fresh wave for a few weeks prior to the formal notice on September 16. A few impacted employees called the workplace “toxic,” underscoring their dissatisfaction with the slow communication.

CEO Chuck Robbins is upbeat about future demand for Cisco’s networking equipment despite the layoffs, pointing to a return to more normalized market circumstances. Better growth prospects were made possible, he said, by the completion of the inventory digesting process.

Why Cisco Is Reducing Employment

By combining its networking, security, and collaboration divisions, Cisco hopes to improve productivity and simplify operations. As the industry changes, the corporation claims that this step would enable it to stay competitive while investing in new areas. It’s interesting to note that Cisco’s earnings report, which showed that 2024 was their second-best year ever with about $54 billion in sales, was released concurrently with the layoff announcement.

In 2023, CEO Chuck Robbins received around $32 million in total executive remuneration—a sum that caused considerable controversy given the company’s plan to reduce employment as part of its cost-cutting efforts.