Cisco Systems, the largest networking equipment company in the world, is reportedly set to lay off around 14,000 employees, representing nearly 20 per cent of its global workforce.
The California-based company is expected to reveal details about the cuts within the next few weeks, according to CRN, a technology news site.
The massive lay off that would range between 9,000 to 14,000 employees worldwide is a possible consequence of the company’s transition from its hardware roots to a software-centre company.
The company has reportedly already offered many early retirement package plans to its staff.
"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," a source familiar with the situation told CRN.
Cisco has declined to comment on CRN’s report.
The Independent has contacted Cisco for further comment.
Cisco had more than 73,000 employees as of April this year, according data compiled by Bloomberg.
The company last announced a large round of firings in August 2014, when it eliminated 6,000 positions, about 8 per cent of its total workforce at the time.
Cisco has been investing in new products such as data analytics software and cloud-based tools for data centres, to offset the impact of sluggish spending by telecom carriers and enterprises on its main business of making network switches and routers.
The company has scheduled a conference calll to announce its fourth quarter fiscal year 2016 financial results on August 17.
Additional reporting by Reuters
