Over 4,000 workers at Cisco will be let go, and 141 US tech companies will lose 34,000 jobs this year.
Plans to reduce Cisco Systems’ worldwide workforce by 5% would result in the loss of nearly 4,000 jobs. The massive manufacturer of networking equipment has also updated its yearly revenue goal, citing the challenging economic conditions that have led to a large number of computer industry layoffs.
In an effort to spur growth, Cisco is strategically concentrating on artificial intelligence and partnering with Nvidia. This is thought to be the cause of the 5% global workforce’s layoffs. With 85,000 employees, the company claims to be restructuring broadly and implementing layoffs in order to focus on high-growth areas.
Cisco is not alone, though. The huge networking equipment company has announced massive layoffs since the beginning of 2024, following in the footsteps of hundreds of other US and Canadian businesses that have strategically worked towards integrating AI into their operations. Despite a 20% decrease from a year ago, job loss announcements in the United States more than doubled month over month to 82,307 in January, according to a research released earlier in February by the outplacement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
More broadly, there is a current wave of employment cutbacks in the US IT sector. Thousands of jobs have already been lost by various IT corporations in 2024. Cisco’s move adds to the increasing number of companies that are reducing their personnel. According to Layoffs.fyi, 141 companies in the technology sector, which saw the greatest number of layoffs in 2023, have already lost 34,000 employees this year.
The job cut announcements portend ongoing layoffs in 2024 as businesses try to contain costs as businesses in both the United States and Canada struggle with the economy.
