Cisco layoffs spark legal questions amid CEO's earlier promise

Cisco Systems recently announced a new round of layoffs, a move that came just days after CEO Chuck Robbins publicly stated the company was not using artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce its workforce. The company eliminated 157 jobs in California, affecting employees across various sites, including its Milpitas campus and offices in San Francisco.

The timing of the job cuts has drawn criticism and sparked legal scrutiny. A Chicago-based law firm, Strauss Borrelli, has initiated an investigation to determine if Cisco violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which requires a 60-day notice for mass layoffs. Reports indicate that employees were informed of the cuts on August 13, with job eliminations scheduled for mid-October.

Earlier that same week, Robbins told CNBC that he did not plan to use AI as a reason to cut staff. He said his goal was to make existing engineers "innovate faster and be more productive," which he believed would give Cisco a competitive edge. This message appeared to signal a different direction from other major tech companies like Microsoft and Amazon, which have tied recent job cuts to AI.

The latest job cuts are the third significant workforce reduction at Cisco in the past year. In February 2024, the company laid off approximately 4,000 employees.This was followed by another round in August 2024, which reduced the global workforce by 7%, or around 5,600 employees. The company cited a need to invest in growth areas and improve business operations for the previous cuts.