Cisco Offers 6 Months Severance to Laid-Off Workers
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc.(NasdaqNM:CSCO - news), the biggest maker of gear that helps to power the Internet, will offer six months of pay to laid-off employees, part of its plan to trim its work force by 5,000, or 11 percent, in the face of a U.S. economic slowdown.
The San Jose, Calif.-based computer-networking concern will offer the laid-off workers two months of pay and benefits, as well as an additional four months of pay and benefits, provided the employee signs a severance agreement, according to an internal memo written by Chief Financial Officer Larry Carter.
The memo, distributed on Thursday, was subsequently posted on the Web Site f+++edcompany.com (http://216.150.6.70) and a Cisco spokesman contacted by Reuters confirmed its authenticity.
The memo said that within the next two weeks, senior management will have finished a review of which projects and products should be suspended, as well as which employees would be laid off. This is in keeping with the timeline Chief Executive John Chambers has mentioned in comments following its March 9 announcement that it was trimming its payroll.
``We fully recognize that the next few weeks will be difficult for all of us. It is important that we treat each other with sensitivity, understanding and dignity,'' Carter wrote. ``Now, more than ever, we must walk the talk of Cisco's culture and remain focused on our long-term business outlook.''
Cisco also, in notifying employees of its plans early in March, reiterated its plan to defer salary raises during its April review and encouraged employees to take three personal days in the fiscal third quarter and seven personal days in the fourth quarter, which concludes toward the end of July.
Cisco is among a slew of high-technology firms that have announced layoffs to control costs and boost profitability amid slowing sales, waning capital spending and economic weakness. |
