Cisco announces record revenue and 4,000 layoffs in the same day
Cisco announces record revenue and 4,000 layoffs in the same day
思科同日宣布创纪录营收与 4000 人裁员计划
In a quarter in which his company delivered record revenue, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins announced that the company’s latest round of layoffs begins today. In a blog post yesterday, Robbins was quick to boast that Cisco’s fiscal Q3 2026 earnings saw revenue increase 12 percent year-over-year to $15.8 billion. He told employees that he and the rest of Cisco’s executive leadership team “could not be prouder of the growth you have all delivered for Cisco.”
在公司实现创纪录营收的季度里，思科首席执行官查克·罗宾斯（Chuck Robbins）宣布，公司新一轮裁员于今日启动。在昨日发布的一篇博客文章中，罗宾斯迅速夸耀称，思科 2026 财年第三季度营收同比增长 12%，达到 158 亿美元。他告诉员工，他和思科的其他高管团队“对大家为思科带来的增长感到无比自豪”。
But that pride could apparently not save the company’s successful employees from unemployment. “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 wrote. “Most notifications will begin on May 14 and continue globally in alignment with applicable local laws and regulations.”
但这份自豪显然无法让公司那些卓有成效的员工免于失业。他写道：“我们今天正在进行的调整将导致第四季度裁减不到 4000 个工作岗位，占我们员工总数的不到 5%。大多数通知将于 5 月 14 日开始，并根据当地适用的法律法规在全球范围内持续进行。”
As with many layoffs at tech companies recently, Cisco’s job losses are attributed to the growth of AI. Robbins’ blog noted that companies that “will win in the AI era” need to demonstrate the “focus, urgency, and the discipline to continuously shift investment toward the areas where demand and long-term value creation are strongest.” “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,” Cisco’s chief said.
与近期许多科技公司的裁员一样，思科的裁员归因于人工智能的发展。罗宾斯的博客指出，那些“将在 AI 时代胜出”的公司需要展现出“专注、紧迫感以及持续将投资转向需求和长期价值创造最强领域的能力”。思科首席执行官表示：“这意味着必须做出艰难的决定——关于我们在哪里投资、如何组织架构，以及我们的成本结构如何反映我们面前的机遇。”
Cisco plans to turn the layoffs into investments in “silicon, optics, security, and in our employees’ use of AI across the company,” according to Robbins. In its earnings report released on Wednesday, Cisco said it sold $5.3 billion in AI infrastructure from hyperscalers so far this fiscal year. It is now expecting orders for the fiscal year to reach $9 billion, up from $5 billion, and revenue to reach $4 billion instead of $3 billion.
据罗宾斯称，思科计划将裁员节省的资金转化为对“芯片、光学、安全以及全公司员工 AI 使用能力”的投资。在周三发布的财报中，思科表示，本财年迄今已向超大规模云服务商售出了价值 53 亿美元的 AI 基础设施。目前，思科预计本财年的订单额将从 50 亿美元增至 90 亿美元，营收预期也从 30 亿美元上调至 40 亿美元。
During a call with investors on Wednesday night, Cisco executives discussed the layoffs further, with CFO Mark Patterson saying, “This was really not a savings-driven restructure,” according to a transcript of the call. “Things are moving incredibly fast right now,” he said. “And this is more realigning from an already strong base, as you’re seeing in our financials, but really realigning resources around silicon, optics, security, and AI. And so being able to move fast, we don’t always have the exact resources that we need going forward in the right places. And so that’s really what this is about versus savings.”
在周三晚间与投资者的电话会议上，思科高管进一步讨论了裁员事宜。据会议记录显示，首席财务官马克·帕特森（Mark Patterson）表示：“这确实不是一场以节省成本为驱动的重组。”他说：“目前形势发展极快。正如你们在财务数据中所看到的，这更多是在现有强大基础上的重新调整，旨在将资源重新配置到芯片、光学、安全和 AI 领域。为了能够快速行动，我们并不总是在正确的地方拥有未来所需的精确资源。所以这才是此次调整的真正目的，而非为了节省开支。”
Due to the layoffs, Cisco expects to “recognize up to $1 billion of pre-tax charges with $450 million to be recognized in the Q4 FY ’26 and the remainder during FY ’27,” Patterson added. “These [layoffs] are building from a position of strength and focusing on the technologies that will accelerate our growth, deliver unmatched innovation to customers and partners, and define our future,” Robbins said on the call.
帕特森补充道，由于裁员，思科预计将“确认最高 10 亿美元的税前费用，其中 4.5 亿美元将在 2026 财年第四季度确认，其余部分将在 2027 财年确认”。罗宾斯在电话会议上表示：“这些（裁员）举措是建立在优势地位之上的，旨在专注于那些能够加速我们增长、为客户和合作伙伴提供无与伦比的创新，并定义我们未来的技术。”
Bonuses and training for laid-off workers
为被裁员工提供的奖金与培训
Robbins’ blog post said that affected workers will receive “pro-rated payment” of fiscal 2026 bonuses. The company also says it will offer services to help laid-off employees find new jobs. “We will provide support in finding new opportunities, whether internal or external, through Cisco’s placement services—a program that has seen 75 percent of participants discover their next role,” Robbins said. “We are also committed to continued personalized learning and will provide one year of access to all Cisco U courses and certifications, covering AI, security, networking, and more.”
罗宾斯的博客文章称，受影响的员工将获得 2026 财年奖金的“按比例支付”。公司还表示将提供服务，帮助被裁员工寻找新工作。罗宾斯说：“我们将通过思科的安置服务，为员工寻找内部或外部的新机会提供支持——该项目已帮助 75% 的参与者找到了下一份工作。我们还致力于持续的个性化学习，并将提供为期一年的所有 Cisco U 课程和认证访问权限，涵盖 AI、安全、网络等领域。”
This round of layoffs follows the dismissal of 4,245 employees, or 5 percent of the workforce at the time, in February 2024, and about 6,000 people, or about 7 percent of the workforce, in August 2024. Cisco also attributed the latter layoffs to the need to restructure around AI and security, The Register reported at the time.
此轮裁员之前，思科曾在 2024 年 2 月裁员 4245 人（占当时员工总数的 5%），并在 2024 年 8 月裁员约 6000 人（占员工总数的约 7%）。据《The Register》当时报道，思科将后一次裁员同样归因于围绕 AI 和安全进行重组的需要。