DHAKA: US tech giant Cisco Systems is cutting up to 7% of its global workforce, or 5,500 jobs, starting this summer.

A report had suggested earlier in the day that the firm could cut as many as 14,000 jobs worldwide.

Cisco said it was taking the ‘decisive’ move so it could reinvest in faster-growing areas such as security and cloud computing.

The US company employs about 70,000 people globally, with around 5,000 in the UK, reports the BBC.

“Today's market requires Cisco and our customers to be decisive, move with greater speed and drive more innovation than we've seen in our history,” the company said in a statement.

Cisco plans to reinvest the money saved from the job cuts in “key priority areas” for the company, including developments in the “internet of things” (connecting everyday objects to the internet), next generation data centers and cloud computing technology.

BDST: 1340 HRS, AUG 18, 2016
RR