Nearly 700 employees laid off by Cisco

Silicon India
Bangalore: Due to slow sales, computer networking giant Cisco has laid off between 600 and 700 employees in an attempt to cut costs. The majority of layoffs were made at the company's headquarters in San Jose, California, The Wall Street Journal reported
Chief Executive Officer, John Chambers had said in February that around 2000 positions would be cut during this fiscal year, which ends this month. As of the end of April, Cisco employed about 66,560 people. According to a company official, the company has also laid off employees at its other branches in the U.S. But, the total number was not immediately clear.

"We are doing everything possible to minimize the impact on employees affected," spokeswoman Kristin Carvell said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Cisco also laid off dozens of its employees from its development center in Israel, where it employees around 700 people. Most of those fired in the first wave of layoffs at the beginning of the year were from the development departments of Riverhead and Actona, two Israeli software companies acquired by Cisco.

Cisco has reported back-to-back quarters of declining sales. It will report its fiscal fourth quarter earnings August 5.