Cisco Systems to lay off more than 4,000 workers in latest sign of tighter times in tech

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE
AP Technology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Internet networking pioneer Cisco Systems is jettisoning more than 4,000 employees. It’s the latest to join the parade of technology companies in a job-cutting trend that has helped boost their profits and stock prices. But the trend has also served as a sobering reminder of the job insecurity hanging over an industry increasingly embracing artificial intelligence. The mass layoffs announced Wednesday in conjunction with Cisco’s latest quarterly results represent about 5% of its worldwide workforce of 84,900 people. The purge follows Cisco’s late 2022 cutbacks that shed 5,000 workers and ahead of its $28 billion acquisition of Splunk. The double whammy of two big layoffs in two years also has been a phenomenon affecting other prominent technology companies