Report: Cisco's proposed reorganization could affect 25,000 routing, switching employees

Cisco's ongoing reorganization of its routing and switching business into two larger teams could affect up to 25,000 workers, reports Business Insider.

Led by Cisco's Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer Pankaj Patel, the company is realigning the structure of the routing and switching units that will be charged with overseeing two elements: software and hardware.

The vendor is going to axe employees that hold a "general manager" title, while "vice president" and "senior vice president" roles will be maintained.

Citing an unnamed source, Business Insider reported that the Cisco reorganization is based on the recommendations of two separate consultants.  

Part of the reasoning to reorganize the group is to simplify the structure by eliminating what could be referred to as product "fiefdoms" that have emerged under Cisco's product/general manager system. The vendor's move could help drive more collaboration amongst employees in the broader group structure.

By putting everyone into two big groups, Cisco hopes people will work together and share more, making the whole company more nimble.

Although it has not discussed this latest reorganization plan, this is not the first time it has conducted layoffs. The vendor announced in August that it would cut 6,000 jobs due to slumping sales of its core routing and switching products and slower-than-expected growth in emerging markets.

This last layoff drive came after it took similar measures to lay off 4,000 workers last August and 11,000 employees from its roster in 2011. 

Cisco may be the dominant router and carrier Ethernet provider, but according to Synergy Research, Cisco's share of the service provider routing and carrier Ethernet market dropped to 41 percent in the second quarter, down 4 percentage points from the same period a year earlier.

For more:
- Business Insider has this article

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