New Delhi: Contrary to large technology majors such as Microsoft and the Meta platform, American Telecom Gear Maker Cisco approaches artificial intelligence (AI)-linked layoffs differently.
Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins told CNBC in a recent interview that the company has no plans to use AI recruitment as a reason to reduce its workforce.
“Now I don't want to get rid of a lot of people,” Robbins said when asked about the potential cost-cutting for Agent AI.
He added that Cisco is taking a balanced approach, using human expertise and agent AI when applicable. This technology allows for accurately processing and performing complex tasks with minimal human intervention. This is a trend that has sparked the fear of massive layoffs in the telecom and technology sector.
Robbins said engineers remain particularly important to Cisco's competitive positioning in the market. “We want the engineers we have today to innovate faster and become more productive. It gives us a competitive advantage,” he said.
However, Robbins said his position could evolve as AI adoption deepens. “Most of my peers would suggest that if we did this right, they would expect to hire fewer people,” he said, but “it's early.”
Cisco has benefited from the boom in cloud and WebScale customers, particularly Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet, among others, particularly AI spending.
The CEO of the Recent Post-Revenue Conference said Cisco's AI infrastructure orders exceeded $800 million in the fourth quarter, exceeding $2 billion in fiscal year 2025, and more than doubled its original target.
“We look forward to the opportunity for sovereign AI to build momentum in the second half of 2026. Cisco will become the core system provider for build-out of these key AI training and inference clusters, essential for development and ultimately hypersculling,” Robbins told analysts.
The company has recently expanded its portfolio to include Artificial Intelligence (AI) Infrastructure (AI-IAAS) and is hoping to leverage the build-out of large AI-centric data centers by hyperscalers, neo-clue providers and businesses.
“We want them to do that shift and play a very important role in helping them manage their normal workloads and their AI workloads,” said Jeet Patel, Cisco president and chief product officer. ettelecom Previously.
