Cisco started a new round of layoffs this week and will ultimately cut hundreds of employees, according to media reports.
The company will cut 405 employees at its San Jose, California headquarters and 57 employees in Milpitas, California, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal. The Register reports Cisco axed between 200 and 300 jobs from its Customer Experience (CX) team as well as up to 10 percent of its Cloud Platforms and Solutions Group in Bangalore, India, and the U.S.
Cisco confirmed the layoffs but would not say how many employees or which business groups were hit. “Over the last several years, we have been transforming Cisco to deliver even greater value to our customers,” a Cisco spokesperson said in an email to SDxCentral. “We continue to make decisions to ensure that our investments and resources are aligned with strategic growth areas of the business.”
ACG Research CEO Ray Mota said he’s not surprised by the layoffs.
“Chuck [Robbins] the CEO hasn’t been shy about making tough decisions and changes, which I think is good,” Mota said.
In recent years Cisco has pivoted from a traditional hardware company to cloud and software and a subscription-based model rather than perpetual licenses. “When you do that, it’s great for Wall Street because you get longer-term, predictable revenue,” Mota said. “But in the short term you don’t incur as much cash. Other companies have done it like Adobe and IBM, and it’s worked well. Overall it’s a tough decision, but it will be great for investors.”
Senior Executive Shakeup
This round of job cuts follows several recent departures from Cisco’s senior executive team. Last month David Ulevitch, who had been working in an advisory role with the company since May but prior to that headed up the firm’s security business, announced he was leaving to join venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Another senior executive Hilton Romanski announced his departure in September. Romanski was Cisco’s SVP and chief strategy officer. He left to become a partner and senior managing director at Siris Capital.
And in August, two senior vice presidents, Christine Heckart and Yvette Kanouff, left the company. Heckart was a marketing executive, and Kanouff served as SVP and GM of Cisco’s Service Provider Business.