250 Cisco workers in Galway ‘in the dark’ over job cuts

Cisco, the communications and computer giant that has a base in Galway, is to shed 4,000 jobs worldwide – the local workforce of up to 250 people remains in the dark over the cuts.

The US multinational that has a base in Oranmore is remaining tight-lipped about what types of jobs will be affected and where the axe will fall at its global network of plants.

The company is not making any statement on who faces the chop and the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) West, which supports Cisco in Ireland, also declined to comment.

Cutting its workforce by 4,000, which is around five percent of its total labour force, is being blamed on an “uncertain demand” for its networking equipment.

The cuts to the workforce come despite the company recording an increase in net profits for the fourth quarter – net profits rose by $2.3 billion compared with profits of $1.9 billion in the fourth quarter of the previous year.

CEO of Cisco, John Chambers told Reuters news agency: “The environment in terms of our business is improving slightly but nowhere near the pace we want. We have to very quickly reallocate the resources.”

In May of last year, the company announced it was to create 115 new jobs in Galway.

For more on this story, see this week’s Connacht Sentinel