7% of workforce to be cut ahead of Cisco acquisition

Cybersecurity agency Splunk, set to be Cisco’s largest-ever acquisition, introduced Wednesday it will lay off roughly 7% of its world workforce, months forward of the deal shut.

Splunk had practically 8,000 staff as of January, in accordance with its regulatory filings, which means that round 500 staff will possible lose their jobs. The corporate laid off about 300 staff earlier this 12 months.

Splunk CEO Gary Steele stated that the firings “should not a results of our settlement with Cisco” in a letter to staff that was filed with the Securities and Trade Fee.

Many of the laid-off staff are situated within the U.S., in accordance with a concurrent submitting with the SEC, and can obtain unspecified severance and healthcare packages. “Inside the subsequent 24 hours, every ELT member will talk with their group to summarize any adjustments to their groups,” Steele wrote.

Splunk will incur about $42 million in restructuring prices, with most occurring earlier than the top of April 2024.

In September, Cisco introduced it will purchase Splunk in an all-cash deal valued at $28 billion. The businesses stated the deal was anticipated to shut by the third quarter of 2024.

Shortly after the announcement, Steele and Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins mentioned the deal on a name with analysts. “Collectively, we are going to turn out to be one of many largest software program firms globally,” Robbins informed analysts.

Layoffs have struck tech firms giant and small over the past 12 months. Corporations like Google and Microsoft have lower 1000’s of staff, whereas many venture-backed firms have turn out to be so-called “zombie startups.”

Splunk didn’t instantly return CNBC’s request for remark.