Cisco cutting 5% of staff amid $600M restructuring

Networking giant Cisco has begun trimming its headcount as part of a company-wide restructuring.

In its Q1 2023 earnings release on Nov. 16, the company announced $600 million in severance pay, one-time termination benefits, and other charges related its restructuring plan.

The move is expected to affect approximately five per cent of Cisco’s workforce as the company focuses on its enterprise networking and security businesses.

“This is not about reducing our workforce — in fact we will have roughly the same number of employees at the end of this fiscal year as we had when we started,” Cisco said in a statement to Reuters.

The company employs a global workforce of more than 101,000 people, according to LinkedIn.

Canadian impact

Cisco didn’t disclose how many Canadian employees are affected by the latest round of cuts.

The company has offices in major cities across the country, including Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver.

Major tech layoffs continue

The reduction by Cisco comes after several major North American tech companies announced sweeping layoffs this year.

Amazon, Meta, Twitter, Hootsuite, Microsoft, Shopify, and Snap are among those who have substantially reduced their workforces as they continue to monitor market conditions.

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Termination agreements for Cisco employees

In Canada, non-unionized employees and senior executives at Cisco are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing or corporate restructuring.

This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.

Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors.

LEARN MORE
• Severance packages in mass layoffs
• Severance for technology industry employees
• Rights to severance for provincially regulated employees

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains why you are still owed severance if you have been downsized on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

We can tell you if what you have been provided is fair and how to get proper compensation if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

If you aren’t given the full amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and are entitled to compensation.