Cisco cuts 250 jobs

Cisco has laid off hundreds of employees in the US, including 250 at its California headquarters, in the first wave of a series of job cuts.

The company has so far cut its head count by 0.5%, and may cut 1,500-2,000 jobs by the end of the year, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Cisco's net income fell 27% to $2.1 billion last quarter, while sales dropped by 7% to $9.1 billion. But the company says the job cuts are part of Cisco's normal restructuring process.

The company had earlier imposed a hiring freeze in an attempt to reduce operating expenses by 15%

Cisco employs around 65,000 people worldwide.