Cisco to lay off 14,000 people from its workforce

Transition to being a software-centric entity cited as reason; firm has already started announcing early retirement packages

Cisco is set to lay off nearly 14,000 people, the biggest in the company’s 32-year old history, according to a report on technology news portal CRN. The workforce forms 20% of its entire staff, the report adds. 

A formal announcement of the job cuts is likely within a few weeks, even as the firm is set to announce its results on Thursday. The company has reportedly started offering early retirement packages to its staff. 

The company has cited transition from its hardware roots to being a software-centric organisation as the reason for these job cuts. 

"They need different skill sets for the software-defined future than they used to have... in theory the addressable market could be higher and margins richer, but it will take some time to make this transition," said a source familiar with the situation told CRN.

 

As per filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company had reported staff strength of 73,104 as of April 20, 2016, the report added. 

Historically, Cisco has had a record of announcing these cuts at the end of every fiscal. 

In August 2014, it planned to lay off 6,000 employees, 4,000 in August 2013, 1,300 in July 2012, and 6,500 in 2011.