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Cisco did not specify the number of roles it will cut and it is unclear how many Irish jobs will be impacted as a result.
Cisco is planning a second round of job cuts this year, as it aims to cut roughly 7pc of its global staff to focus on certain sectors including cybersecurity and AI.
The company did not specify how many jobs would be impacted but it is expected to be thousands worldwide – Cisco employed nearly 85,000 as of June 2023. The decision follows an earlier round of job cuts by Cisco in February as part of efforts to “realign the organisation”.
The announcement was made in an earnings call for Cisco’s fourth fiscal quarter for 2024, where its revenue of $13.6bn was above its estimates. In an earnings call, CEO Chuck Robbins said the company is “laser focused” on growth and is investing to “win in AI, cloud and cybersecurity”.
“We announced a restructuring plan to allow us to both invest in key growth opportunities as well as drive more efficiency in our business,” Robbins said.
The restructuring effort could impact Irish jobs – Cisco has offices in Dublin and Galway. When asked exactly how many employees will be impacted, Cisco CFO Scott Herren said it is not that simple and that it should be viewed as a “reallocation versus a headcount savings”.
“In some cases, the efficiencies that we’re going to get will be by moving into lower cost locations,” Herren said.
Cisco has been expanding into certain sectors more aggressively, as it snapped up cybersecurity company Splunk in a deal valued at $28bn last year. The tech multinational also launched a €1bn fund this year to invest in AI start-ups globally.
Job losses in the tech sector have been growing this year, as companies take cost-cutting measures in response to macroeconomic issues. Earlier this month, Intel shared a disappointing second quarter and looks set to cut more than 18,000 staff globally. It is unclear how many Irish jobs will be affected.
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