SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) _ Cisco Systems Inc., the world's No. 1 maker of networking equipment, is cutting up to 5,000 full-time employees _ about 11 percent of its full-time work force.
Cisco also plans to cut 3,000 temporary and contract workers.
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"We're taking these steps because of the continuing slowdown in the U.S. economy and initial signs of a slowdown expanding to other parts of the world," said John Chambers, chief executive and president.
Cisco's stock price plunged to a 52-week low on the news, dropping $2, or nearly 9 percent, to $20.81 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Last March, it was trading above $80.
The announcement was the latest in a litany of warnings and cutbacks by Silicon Valley companies in recent weeks as they cope with a slowing economy and falling demand for computers and everything high-tech.
On Thursday, No. 1 chipmaker Intel Corp. reported its first quarterly revenue will fall short of Wall Street's expectations and it is eliminating 5,000 jobs through attrition. On Wednesday, Yahoo! Inc. warned it will break even in its current quarter, badly missing analysts' expectations.
Sun Microsystems Inc., 3Com Corp. and JDS Uniphase Corp. also have issued warnings in recent weeks.
(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APTV 03-09-01 1428MST
