New Mass Layoff Sends California Job Losses Soaring [Video]

Bay Area tech giant Cisco Systems has announced a second major round of layoffs this year as it refocuses the company toward growing areas such cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (A.I.), cutting 7 percent of its workforce in the process.

While it’s unclear exactly how many of the San Jose-based company’s employees will be let go, the number is expected to be similar to the 4,000 employees Cisco dismissed in February as part of its restructuring plan, or even higher. KCRA-TV estimated that the company will cut as many as 5,900 jobs.

As of July 2023, the Californian tech giant employed around 84,900 employees, according to its annual filing. That was before the company’s layoffs in February, which means that the company possibly employs 80,900 people. This number is now expected to dwindle even further.

Newsweek contacted Cisco for comment by email on Friday morning.