Cisco Posted Record Revenue and Cut 4000 Jobs the Same Day
Via Ars Technica
The Story
Cisco announced roughly 4,000 layoffs on May 14, 2026, cutting nearly 5 percent of its global workforce on the same day it reported record quarterly revenue of $15.8 billion, a 12 percent year over year gain driven by surging demand for AI infrastructure.
CEO Chuck Robbins framed the cuts as a strategic pivot to accelerate investment in AI, security, and silicon products, with the company's AI infrastructure order target raised from $5 billion to $9 billion for fiscal 2026.
The move reflects a broader pattern across the tech industry, where AI was the most cited reason for layoffs in April 2026, accounting for 26 percent of all job cuts that month, as more than 85,000 tech workers lost their jobs in the first four months of the year.
For workers and observers alike, Cisco's announcement crystallizes the defining labor question of 2026: whether record corporate profits justify mass job eliminations in the name of an AI transition that research suggests may not yet be delivering the productivity gains companies claim.
CEO Chuck Robbins framed the cuts as a strategic pivot to accelerate investment in AI, security, and silicon products, with the company's AI infrastructure order target raised from $5 billion to $9 billion for fiscal 2026.
The move reflects a broader pattern across the tech industry, where AI was the most cited reason for layoffs in April 2026, accounting for 26 percent of all job cuts that month, as more than 85,000 tech workers lost their jobs in the first four months of the year.
For workers and observers alike, Cisco's announcement crystallizes the defining labor question of 2026: whether record corporate profits justify mass job eliminations in the name of an AI transition that research suggests may not yet be delivering the productivity gains companies claim.
Go Deeper
Read the original reporting at Ars Technica.
Read Full Story at Ars Technica →