Cisco and LinkedIn are cutting 5,000 jobs despite achieving record profits
This week, two prominent tech companies in the Bay Area revealed significant job cuts, contributing thousands of positions to the increasing number of layoffs in the tech sector for 2026, despite both firms reporting robust financial performance. Cisco, based in San Jose, is reducing its global workforce by around 4,000 employees—roughly 5% of its total workforce of about 86,000— as it shifts focus toward AI, security, and silicon-based products.
The decision was made in conjunction with an impressive earnings report: the company announced record revenue of $15.8 billion for Q3 fiscal 2026, reflecting a 12% increase compared to the previous year. In a memo to staff, CEO Chuck Robbins characterized the cuts as an essential shift.
“The companies that will succeed in the AI era will be those that demonstrate focus, urgency, and the discipline to consistently redirect investment to the areas with the highest demand and potential for long-term value creation,” Robbins wrote. “This entails making difficult choices—regarding our investment strategies, organizational structure, and how our cost framework aligns with the opportunities ahead.”
Cisco has secured $5.3 billion in AI infrastructure orders from hyperscalers this fiscal year and has increased its full-year order expectation to $9 billion, up from the previous estimate of $5 billion. Cisco has continued its trend of workforce reductions, having laid off thousands in two distinct rounds in 2024 and eliminating more than 150 positions in 2025. Cisco’s stock experienced a remarkable increase of 15% following the announcement.
LinkedIn, based in Sunnyvale, has announced plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 5%. CEO Daniel Shapero announced the reductions in an internal memo, affecting the engineering, product, and marketing teams. The layoffs occur despite a 12% increase in LinkedIn’s revenue in the latest quarter. Sources informed Reuters that the reasoning behind the cuts was not due to AI taking over jobs but rather a restructuring of teams to focus on growth areas.
As reported by Layoffs. As of 2026, over 103,000 tech workers have been laid off worldwide, nearing the total number of job losses recorded for the entirety of 2025.
