Investment in cloud technology, data analytics have had an impact on organization’s workforce – Microsoft and HP have announced about the job cuts this year already. Now, Cisco Systems is set to lay off about 20% of their global workforce which is about 14,000 employees, according to the technology news site CRN, which cites sources close to the company.  

According to the report, the California-based company is expected to announce the job cuts in the next few weeks which also marks the company’s transition from the hardware focus to more software-centric business. Cisco, which had more than 70,000 employees as of 30 April, declined to comment.

CRN also reported that the company has already offered many early retirement package plan to its employees who they are letting go off. Cisco increasingly required “different skill sets” for the “software-defined future” than it did in the past, as it pushed to capture market share and boost margins, the CRN report, said citing a source familiar with the situation.

Cisco has been investing in new products such as data analytics software and cloud-based tools for data centres to offset the impact of sluggish spending by telecom carriers and enterprises on its main business of making network switches and routers.