NEW YORK: Cisco will cut thousands of jobs in a second round of layoffs this year as the US networking equipment maker shifts focus to higher-growth areas, including cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI), people familiar with the matter said.

The number of people affected could be similar to or slightly higher than the 4,000 employees Cisco laid off in February, and will likely be announced as early as Wednesday with the company’s fourth-quarter results, said the sources, who were not authorised to speak publicly.

Reuters exclusively reported the job cut that San Jose, California-based Cisco announced in February, prior to the company announcing it.

The company employed around 84,900 people as of July 2023, according to its annual filing. That number does not account for the February layoffs.

Cisco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Its shares fell nearly 1% after Reuters first reported the cuts. The stock was down over 9% this year as of last Thursday’s close.

 - Reuters