US-based tech conglomerate Cisco has announced it is to axe nearly 700 jobs this week as part of what appears to be a continuance of a restructuring phase.
The move follows from its plan to lay off more than 4,000 staff, commencing in December and announced the month before.
The cuts follow a mixed bag of Q4 2022 results, leaving Cisco ahead on revenue with $13. 10 billion, more than the forecast $12.73 billion and ultimately its largest ever Q1, but with overall revenue falling 6% to $2.82 billion.
In the earnings call for investors, Cisco CFOP Scott Herren explained that “this really is a rebalancing”, and in a following statement, the firm said: “We didn’t take this decision lightly, and we will offer those impacted extensive support, including generous severance packages”.
The new batch of layoffs focused on the Bay Area, at the San Jose headquarters and Milpitas offices, and included 80 directly in its San Francisco offices. At Cisco headquarters, 371 workers were released from their contracts, along with two VPs. The Milpitas redundancies saw 222 workers made up of engineers, technical staff, and one VP lose their jobs.
Tech Industry Tightens Purse Strings
There’s no way around it; it’s been a tough week for the tech industry as firms pull in their belts and cut back on their pandemic-period hires while looking to consolidate for the difficult financial weather ahead. Cuts across the UC space and the broader tech industry began last year with many companies looking to prove their prudence, steady share prices, and keep investors onside by showing they are cost focused.
Most layoff announcements have come under the banner of ‘restructuring plans’. Technology firms shed more than 150,000 workers worldwide in 2022, according to Layoffs.fyi. In September 2022, Avaya expected to lose $26m as it intended to save up to $250m with expected job cuts of around 2,500, measures save up to $250m with expected job cuts of about 2,500, measures that it had already warned back in July that it would have to take.
Back in October, Microsoft cut 1,000 jobs due to ‘structural changes’, according to Office Today. In 2022, Twitter handed redundancy notices to 3,750 employees, while Snap (Snapchat) sacked 1,300 staff.
Meta axed 11,000 jobs in November, its first mass layoffs, making about 13 per cent of its 87,000 workforce, with losses mainly from Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
The ubiquitous Amazon released another 8,000 workers this week as layoffs exceed the 10K announced in November. The losses reflect a downturn in online shopping habits and a desire to reduce over-hiring. Reports claim Amazon may have overextended itself, and as the online retail giant loses $1trn in value, some investors predict the return of Jeff Bezos to lead the firm again.
In a New Year slowdown, Salesforce also promised to show just under 8,000 of its workforce the exit. Co-Founder Mark Benioff admitted: “The environment remains challenging, and our customers are taking a more measured approach to purchase decisions. With this in mind, we’ve made the very difficult decision to reduce our workforce by about 10 per cent, mostly over the coming weeks.”
Elsewhere this week, Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud announced the video marketing platform is releasing 11 per cent of its estimated 1,400 staff from their contracts. Sud stated: “We are entering 2023 with a more focused strategy to simplify Vimeo, and ultimately, our team size and composition need to reflect that focus.
Sud concluded: “This reduction enables us to achieve our growth and profitability goals in a way that is far less dependent on the broader market, putting us in full control of our destiny.”
