Cisco to lay off up to 6,000 workers

[unhappycamper]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CISCO_LAYOFFS?SITE=VANOV&SECTION=BUSINESS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Cisco to lay off up to 6,000 workers
Aug 13, 6:03 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- Cisco said Wednesday that it will lay off up to 6,000 workers, or 8 percent of its workforce, as part of a restructuring.

The company, which makes routers, switches and software, said the layoffs will affect workers in operations around the world. The announcement was made during a conference call discussing its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings.

The San Jose, California-based company on Wednesday reported a 1 percent decline in profit, to $2.25 billion, as revenue dipped to $12.36 billion from $12.42 billion. Its adjusted earnings for the three months ended July 26, its fiscal fourth quarter, came to 55 cents per share, which was two cents more than analysts expected, according to Zacks Investment Research.

During the conference call, Chief Financial Officer Frank Calderoni said the company estimates pretax charges of up to $700 million, with about $250 to $350 million recorded in the current quarter, for the restructuring.

[newfie11]

1. Wonder if Restructuring means moving out of country n/t

[unhappycamper]

2. To please the NSA, Cicso put backdoors in their hardware.

That may be biting them in the ass.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisco

Firewall backdoor developed by NSA

According to the German magazine Der Spiegel the NSA has developed JETPLOW for gaining access to ASA (series 5505, 5510, 5520, 5540 and 5550) and 500-series PIX Firewalls.[103]

Cisco’s Chief Security Officer addressed the allegations publicly and denied working with any government to weaken Cisco products for exploitation or to implement security back doors.[104]

A document included in the trove of National Security Agency files released with Glenn Greenwald’s book No Place to Hide details how the agency’s Tailored Access Operations (TAO) unit and other NSA employees intercept servers, routers, and other network gear being shipped to organizations targeted for surveillance and install covert implant firmware onto them before they’re delivered. These Trojan horse systems were described by an NSA manager as being “some of the most productive operations in TAO because they pre-position access points into hard target networks around the world.”[105]

Cisco addressed the allegations in a customer document [106] concluding that no information was included about specific Cisco products, supply chain intervention or implant techniques, or new security vulnerabilities. Cisco’s General Counsel also reconfirmed that Cisco does not work with any government, including the United States Government, to weaken its products.[107] The allegations are reported to have prompted the company’s CEO to express concern to the President of the United States.[108]

[newfie11]

3. Aah the land of the free

Thanks for the info.
Big brother is everywhere.