Cisco Workers Get Pre-Holiday Pink Slips in California

After a month of speculation, Cisco is laying off workers in California as part of a cost-cutting and restructuring effort.

According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice with the California Employment Development Department, Cisco is cutting 101 workers in San Jose, California. The cuts take place this month.

Data scientists, software engineers, project managers and technical leaders are among the positions Cisco is eliminating. Furthermore, the job cuts are permanent and the employees are non-union.

When we reached out, Cisco sent us the following statement:

“Over the coming weeks and months, Cisco will increase our investments in key business areas that will drive customer satisfaction and partner profitability going forward and reduce investments in others. We will be restructuring parts of our business as a result. Our employees are our priority.”

Cisco also pledged to support workers transitioning to new roles or teams. or leaving the company.

Cost-Cutting Measures

In August, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins told investors on a fourth-quarter earnings call that the company would cut $1 billion over the coming quarters. The restructuring includes a voluntary early retirement program and layoffs.

For its fourth quarter, Cisco reported $12.2 billion in revenue, down 9% from the year-ago quarter.

Cisco also is rebalancing its research and development investments.

Cisco initiated layoffs earlier this year as well. In February, it cut 171 workers at its Milpitas, California, facility and 224 workers at its San Jose facility.