Cisco Systems announced plans to cut 5% of its global workforce, resulting in more than 4,000 job losses. The networking equipment giant also revised its annual revenue target, citing a difficult economic environment with widespread layoffs in the high-tech sector.
Cisco is strategically focused on artificial intelligence and has partnered with Nvidia to drive growth. This is believed to be the reason for firing 5% of his global workforce. The 85,000-employee company claims it is cutting jobs and undertaking extensive restructuring efforts to focus on high-growth areas.
But Cisco isn’t alone. The networking equipment giant followed hundreds of other U.S. and Canadian companies that have strategically shifted to integrating AI into their operations to announce major layoffs starting in early 2024. According to a report released in early February by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement support company, the number of employees in January was 82,307, down 20% from the same month last year.
More broadly, the U.S. technology sector is experiencing a wave of layoffs. In 2024, thousands of jobs have already been cut at various technology companies. Cisco’s decision adds to the growing list of companies cutting jobs. The technology industry experienced the most layoffs in 2023, with 34,000 job cuts across 141 companies already this year, according to Layoffs.fyi.
As companies across sectors across the U.S. and Canada grapple with economic challenges, the layoff announcements signal the possibility of continued layoffs in 2024 as organizations seek to control costs.
List of companies that announced layoffs –
A snapshot of job losses in the technology sector
Amazon:
Amazon Prime Division: Less than 5% of employees affected
Amazon Audible: 5% headcount reduction
Amazon Streaming and Studio Operations: Hundreds of Layoffs
Twitch: 35% reduction
Amazon Pharmacy: Cutting hundreds of jobs
alphabet
X Lab (new technology development): dozens of layoffs
Advertising Sales Team: Hundreds of people affected
Hardware teams (Pixel, Nest, Fitbit): Hundreds of job cuts
Augmented Reality Team: Majority of Headcount Reductions
Microsoft: Gaming division (Activision Blizzard and Xbox): approximately 1,900 job cuts
IBM: Headcount reductions planned for 2024. Focus on recruiting for AI-centric roles
eBay: Cuts approximately 1,000 roles, representing approximately 9% of workforce
Unity Software: approximately 25% headcount reduction, totaling 1,800 jobs
DocuSign: Reduced headcount by approximately 6%, mostly in sales and marketing (400 employees)
Snap: Approximately 528 jobs, equivalent to 10% of the global workforce, will be cut
Salesforce: Lays off approximately 700 employees, approximately 1% of global workforce
Aurora Innovation: 3% of employees laid off
BlackBerry: Additional layoffs planned following approximately 200 layoffs in the previous quarter
SiriusXM: approximately 3% headcount reduction, impacting approximately 160 roles
Snapshot of unemployed people in the media sector
Walt Disney’s Pixar Animation Studios: layoffs after some shows end
Sky (owned by Comcast): approximately 1,000 job cuts companywide
Los Angeles Times: 94 journalists to be fired
Paramount Global: Unspecified number of layoffs
Business Insider: About 8% of employees are laid off.
Bell Canada: 4,800 job cuts
A snapshot of unemployed people in the financial services sector
PayPal Holdings: Cuts approximately 2,500 jobs, representing 9% of global workforce
Block Inc: Unspecified number of layoffs
Citigroup: plans to cut 20,000 jobs over the next two years
Nasdaq: Cuts hundreds of jobs to integrate Adenza into its own business
BlackRock: Reduce headcount by approximately 3%, expect to increase number of employees by end of 2024
Snapshot of consumer and retail sector job losses
Estée Lauder: Cut 3% to 5% of global workforce
Wayfair: laid off 1,650 employees, about 13% of its workforce.
Macy’s: 2,350 job cuts, 5 store closures
Levi Strauss & Co: plans to cut 10% to 15% of global corporate jobs
Hershey’s: Restructuring affects less than 5% of employees
Snapshot of health sector job losses
Novavax: Cut approximately 12% of employees
A snapshot of manufacturing job losses
Lockheed Martin: Plans to reduce headcount by 1%
United Parcel Service: Cuts 12,000 jobs to reduce costs
Piedmont Lithium: Cost-cutting plan cuts 27% of workforce