Cisco cuts 4,000 jobs as demand slows

Cisco Systems is cutting 4,000 jobs, or 5 per cent of its workforce, as it makes a fresh attempt to cut costs and refocus on growth areas amid uncertain demand for its networking equipment.

Shares of the world's biggest network equipment maker fell more than 9 per cent in after-hours trade, their biggest drop in more than a year on Nasdaq.

A lukewarm revenue forecast dashed expectations that Cisco could overcome muted demand for technology infrastructure.

Cisco has been whittling away at its workforce and selling consumer businesses, such as its line of "Flip" cameras and home networking, in a turnaround begun in 2010, when it started losing ground to nimbler rivals like Juniper Networks and Palo Alto Networks.

The company that once specialised in providing the backbone of the internet now sees software and equipment for data centres and corporate cloud networking as its key to growth.

But Wednesday's results suggest the pace of expansion had been slower than anticipated, analysts said.