Cisco, LinkedIn to cut thousands of jobs in latest tech layoffs

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON)– Two of the biggest names in tech are planning thousands of job cuts between them.

Cisco, in a memo to employees Wednesday, announced it would be cutting around 4,000 jobs as part of a shift in focus toward artificial intelligence.

“The companies that will win in the AI era will be those with focus, urgency, and the discipline to continuously shift investment toward the areas where demand and long-term value creation are strongest,” Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said in the memo. “I’m confident Cisco will be one of those winners. This means making hard decisions — about where we invest, how we’re organized, and how our cost structure reflects the opportunity in front of us.”

“With this, we are making changes today that will result in the reduction of our overall workforce in Q4 by fewer than 4,000 jobs, representing less than 5 percent of our total employee base,” he added.

Layoff notifications will begin to go out on Thursday, Robbins said. Impacted employees will receive pro-rated payment of fiscal 2026 bonuses and support finding new jobs.

Cisco’s stock surged 15 precent following news of the layoffs.

LinkedIn layoffs

Separately, LinkedIn plans to lay off 5 percent of its staff. However, in this case, the job cuts are not AI-related, according to reporting from Reuters, which cited two people familiar with the matter.

LinkedIn has around 17,500 full-time workers, so the job cuts would amount to around 875 people losing their jobs. The professional social network and job-search platform will also begin informing staff of layoffs Wednesday, the wire said.

In a statement to Nexstar’s KRON Wednesday evening, a LinkedIn representative said, “As part of our regular business planning, we’ve implemented organizational changes to best position ourselves for future success.”

Both companies are based in the Bay Area with Cisco headquartered in San Jose, Calif., and LinkedIn in Sunnyvale, Calif.