Cisco to sack 4,000 workers in AI-focused restructuring

Cisco has announced that it would cut nearly 4,000 jobs, as part of a restructuring aimed at shifting investment toward artificial intelligence and related growth areas.

“The companies that will win in the AI era will be those with focus, urgency, and the discipline to continuously shift investment toward the areas where demand and long-term value creation are strongest,” CEO Chuck ⁠Robbins said in a statement published on Cisco’s website on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.

The company said it was making strategic investments in silicon, optics, security, and employees’ use of AI across the company, as it reduces roles in some areas.

Cisco has taken $5.3 billion in AI infrastructure orders from hyperscalers so far this fiscal year, and raised its full-year order expectation to $9 billion from $5 billion previously.

“Though much will likely be made about a slight decrease in headcount, the post-market move we are seeing is truly the result of hyperscaler capex spilling downstream. This move validates that this capex is about more than just chips,” said Ryan Lee, Direxion’s senior vice president of product and strategy.

NGX investors trade 1.68bn shares as market capitalisation hits N161.8trn

Cisco is benefiting as companies expand spending beyond ⁠AI processors to the high-speed networks required to connect large data-center systems.

Its networking product orders grew more than 50% in the third quarter compared to a year earlier, while data-center switching orders rose more than 40%.

Shares of the company have risen 32% this year.

Cisco will reduce its workforce by fewer than 4,000 jobs in the fourth quarter, representing less than 5% of its workforce. It had about 86,200 employees ⁠as of July 26.

The restructuring plan is expected to cost Cisco up to $1 billion, with about $450 million to be recognised in the fourth quarter and the remainder in fiscal 2027.