Multiple Cisco employees told TechCrunch that after the company announced a second restructuring on August 14, 2024, they had been told they would not learn whether they were affected until September 16. TechCrunch reported that account on August 20. Cisco did not respond to the outlet’s request for comment, and the reporting did not establish why employees had to wait.
What Cisco employees were told about the notification date
In its August 20, 2024 report, TechCrunch said multiple Cisco employees reported that they would not know whether they were affected until September 16. That was an employee-reported date, not a notification schedule Cisco publicly explained in the cited coverage. The company did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.
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The September 16 date was the anticipated notification date reported by employees; the cited August article did not establish what each employee was told individually or how Cisco made the timing decision. A September 17 TechCrunch follow-up reported that the notifications had occurred, but said Cisco did not give a reason for the month-long delay.
How the two 2024 restructuring rounds compare
| Round | Announcement and reported impact | Estimated restructuring charges | Company-stated rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 2024 | On February 14, Cisco disclosed a plan affecting approximately 5% of its global workforce in an SEC filing. The filing did not provide a headcount total. Cisco SEC filing. | Approximately $800 million in estimated pre-tax charges, according to the filing. | The cited filing information does not state a rationale comparable to the August earnings release. |
| August 2024 | Cisco announced the plan on August 14. On September 17, TechCrunch described the reduction as 7%, or around 5,600 employees; those are the follow-up’s approximate reported figures, not an exact official headcount in the cited sources. TechCrunch follow-up. | Up to $1 billion in estimated pre-tax charges, per Cisco’s August earnings release. | Cisco said the plan would support investment in key growth opportunities and drive efficiencies. |
The figures are not directly interchangeable: February’s percentage and charge estimate came from Cisco’s SEC filing, while the August percentage and rounded worker count were reported by TechCrunch after the notifications. Cisco’s August release gave the charge estimate and rationale, not an exact affected-employee total. Cisco’s August 14, 2024 earnings release.
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What Cisco said about the August plan—and what the figures do not prove
Cisco described the restructuring as a way to invest in key growth opportunities and drive efficiencies, and estimated up to $1 billion in pre-tax charges. Those were the company’s stated rationale and estimate; they do not explain individual job decisions or establish why the notification date was set for September 16.
The August announcement came with Cisco’s FY2024 results. The company reported $53.8 billion in fiscal-year revenue, down 6% year over year, and $13.6 billion in fourth-quarter revenue, down 10%. It also reported $2.2 billion in Q4 GAAP net income, down 45% year over year. Cisco’s Form 8-K states that FY2024 ended July 27, 2024. The results provide financial context, but the cited reporting does not establish that these figures caused the layoffs.
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What employees told TechCrunch about morale
TechCrunch quoted an anonymous Cisco employee who said the workplace had become “the most toxic environment I’ve ever worked in” and described internal-platform comments as unusually dark. The employee said they were waiting for a restricted stock unit vest before leaving and added that two layoffs of this magnitude in one calendar year were “beyond the pale.” TechCrunch said the employee requested anonymity to avoid retaliation.
A second anonymous employee told TechCrunch that Cisco “needs to stop layoffs every year and work on innovation and getting more revenue.” These are individual accounts, not a survey or a measured company-wide assessment of morale.
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Timeline of Cisco’s 2024 cuts
- February 14: Cisco disclosed a restructuring affecting approximately 5% of its global workforce and estimated approximately $800 million in pre-tax charges in an SEC filing.
- August 14: Cisco announced another restructuring alongside its FY2024 results, citing investment in growth opportunities and efficiency and estimating up to $1 billion in pre-tax charges.
- August 20: TechCrunch reported employee accounts that affected staff would not learn their status until September 16. Cisco did not respond to its request for comment.
- September 16: The date employees had reportedly been given for notification.
- September 17: TechCrunch reported that the August round represented 7%, or around 5,600 employees, and that the February round involved around 4,000. These are rounded figures attributed to the follow-up.
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