Cisco continues to tighten its belt

Fueled by declining sales and a movement to control costs, Cisco said late last week that it dismissed up to 700 employees. According to a Wall Street Journal report, a source reportedly said that between 600-700 employees from the vendor's San Jose headquarters lost their jobs. In addition, Cisco said it had to lay off employees in other U.S.-based branch offices outside of San Jose, but the vendor did not comment on the total number of employees affected in this latest restructuring exercise.

This latest move comes after company CEO John Chambers announced in February that the company would eliminate between 1,500-2,000 jobs by the close of its fiscal year, which ends in July. Cisco has seen consecutive quarters of sales declines. And while Chambers expressed optimism in May that that the current economic downturn could be turning around, it will take time for spending to pick up again.

For more:
- The Wall Street Journal has this report

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