Cisco Systems plans to cut up to 14,000 jobs, or 20% of its global workforce, in the “next few weeks,” CRN reported Tuesday, citing unnamed sources close to the company.
Cisco’s been asked to comment on the report, but CRN said the company has already offered early retirement packages to employees.
Update: Cisco declined to comment.
CRN said the cuts will range from 9,000 to 14,000 employees, and will come as Cisco shifts its focus and skillset to support the move toward more virtualized, software-defined networks and away from purpose-built hardware.
Cisco is scheduled to post fiscal Q4 results Wednesday (August 17). The company, which sold its CPE business to Technicolor in late 2015, posted Q3 revenues of $12 billion, up 3% year-on-year, and said it expects Q4 revenue growth of up to 3%.
Cisco, helmed by CEO Chuck Robbins since July 2015, announced it would cut 6,000 jobs, or 8% of its global workforce, in August 2014, a year after the company laid off about 4,000 workers.
Earlier this year, Cisco expanded its service provider organization amid a broader reorganization.
