Cisco offers no specifics on job cuts, will continue hiring in places

While Cisco Systems will not offer specifics on a plan to cut up to 6,000 jobs it announced during its earnings call Wednesday, it appears the company’s 10-year agreement with the province, which could create up to 1,700 jobs, is not in jeopardy.

Many of those new jobs are expected to be at the firm’s Kanata location on Innovation Drive.

Karin Scott, public relations director for Cisco Canada, said in an e-mail on Thursday that certain areas of the company will feel the impact of the cuts more than others, depending on the opportunity for growth in each department.

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“There is no hiring freeze, and we will continue to invest in the talent that will drive our future,” she wrote.

In a statement issued Thursday, the company said technology disruption has never moved faster and the cuts are necessary to “adapt and accelerate through change.”

The company said it is “taking action now to build for the future of cloud, security, virtualization, analytics, data center, Internet of Everything, and collaboration.”

Analyst Zeus Kerravala of ZK Research said that bodes well for the capital.

“I think given the fact the jobs announced in Ottawa were really for emerging technologies, I would think most of those will still be in play.”

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) employs about 1,600 people in Canada, including more than 300 in Ottawa.

Mr. Kerravala said Cisco has “staffed up” outside of the U.S.A. for years because of the amount of cash it holds in foreign companies, and the high cost of repatriating that money.

The San Jose, California-based company on Wednesday reported a 1 per cent decline in profit, to $2.25 billion, as revenue dipped to $12.36 billion from $12.42 billion. Its adjusted earnings for the three months ended July 26, its fiscal fourth quarter, came to 55 cents per share, which was two cents more than analysts expected, according to Zacks Investment Research.

During the conference call, Chief Financial Officer Frank Calderoni said the company estimates pretax charges of up to $700 million, with about $250 to $350 million recorded in the current quarter, for the restructuring.

Shares fell 25 cents, or 1 per cent, to $24.95 in after-hours trading Wednesday, and continued falling Thursday, at $24.53 about an hour before close.

-with files from the Associated Press

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