Home Innovation Cisco Cisco Faces Criticism over Lay...

Cisco Faces Criticism over Layoffs after CEO’s AI Job Promise

Cisco

Business Honor
27 August, 2025

Cisco announces layoffs despite CEO's claims AI wouldn't cut jobs, sparking legal investigation.

Cisco Systems is under scrutiny after announcing new layoffs, just days after its CEO, Chuck Robbins, demanded the company was not using artificial intelligence (AI) to cut jobs. The tech giant is letting go of 157 employees in California, affecting locations such as its Milpitas campus and San Francisco offices.

The decision has sparked disapproval due to the timing and possible legal issues. An investigation into whether Cisco violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act has been started by the Chicago legal firm Strauss Borelli. This federal law requires companies to give workers 60 days’ notice before large scale layoffs. Cisco reportedly informed employees of the cuts on August 13, with layoffs planned for mid of October.

Earlier that week, Robbins told CNBC that Cisco had no intention of using AI to reduce headcount. Instead, he said AI would help existing staff work more efficiently and drive discovery. This stance appeared to separate Cisco from other major tech firms like Microsoft and Amazon, which have linked job cuts to AI investments.

However, in as many years, Cisco has experienced three significant layoff waves. There were almost 4,000 layoffs in February 2024. A second round in August 2024 wrinkled some 5,600 people or 7% of the world's workforce. At the time, Cisco insisted that the layoffs were part of a strategy to rearrange the company and focus on areas for expansion. Concerns among workers and industry observers have increased as a result of the leadership's differing messages and the continuous layoffs. Cisco is under pressure to explain its layoff procedures and its actual posture on AI's influence on its workforce as questions become clearer.