Cisco cuts nearly 4,000 jobs to spend more on AI, reports ‘record quarterly revenue’

Cisco cuts nearly 4,000 jobs to spend more on AI, reports ‘record quarterly revenue’
Technology giant Cisco is cutting nearly 4,000 jobs, or around 5% of its workforce, despite reporting better-than-expected profit and revenue in its fiscal third quarter.  The networking equipment maker said it is reducing its headcount in order to change its “cost structure” and invest in AI and cy

<p id="speakable-summary" class="wp-block-paragraph">Technology giant Cisco is cutting nearly 4,000 jobs, or around 5% of its workforce, despite reporting <a href="https://newsroom.cisco.com/c/r/newsroom/en/us/a/y2026/m05/cisco-reports-third-quarter-earnings.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">better-than-expected profit and revenue</a> in its fiscal third quarter. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The networking equipment maker said it is reducing its headcount in order to change its “cost structure” and invest in AI and cybersecurity.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Cisco’s decision follows a recent trend of tech companies increasingly citing a priority on AI spending as a reason to let employees go. <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/08/cloudflare-says-ai-made-1100-jobs-obsolete-even-as-revenue-hit-a-record-high/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cloudflare</a> and <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/11/gm-just-laid-off-hundreds-of-it-workers-to-hire-those-with-stronger-ai-skills/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">General Motors</a> have both laid off staff in recent days, despite reporting strong financial results.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Cisco said it plans to invest more in cybersecurity, as the company continues to contend with <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/26/cisco-says-hackers-have-been-exploiting-a-critical-bug-to-break-into-big-customer-networks-since-2023/">a slew</a> of <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/17/cisco-says-chinese-hackers-are-exploiting-its-customers-with-a-new-zero-day/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">security vulnerabilities</a> in its routers and firewalls that have allowed hackers to break into the networks of its corporate customers, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/13/cisa-warns-federal-agencies-to-patch-flawed-cisco-firewalls-amid-active-exploitation-across-the-us-government/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">including the U.S. government</a>. Cisco last year also experienced <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/05/hacker-used-a-voice-phishing-attack-to-steal-cisco-customers-personal-information/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a data breach</a> in which customers’ personal information was affected.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In <a href="https://blogs.cisco.com/news/our-path-forward" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">a blog post</a> published Wednesday, Cisco’s chief executive Chuck Robbins touted the company’s “record revenue” and “double-digit growth,” while acknowledging that Cisco was making strategic investments “in our employees’ use of AI across the company.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">According <a href="https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0000858877/000085887725000150/csco-20251027.htm#i58ade4dd9cc34ac19560239caca63338_437" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">to public filings</a>, Robbins was slated to earn more than $52 million in executive compensation during 2025. When reached by TechCrunch, a Cisco spokesperson did not comment beyond Robbins’ statement, or say, when asked, if Robbins plans to reduce his compensation.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This is the latest round of job cuts at Cisco in recent years. The company laid off thousands of employees <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/17/ciscos-second-layoff-of-2024-affect-thousands-of-employees/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">during two separate layoffs in 2024</a> and <a href="https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/cisco-announces-layoffs-days-after-ceo-said-it-wont-cut-jobs-in-favor-of-ai/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">cut over 150 jobs</a> in 2025.</p>