Thread regarding Cisco Systems Inc. layoffs

... Every company that outsources underestimates the value and versatility of their own IT department until they don't have one and get charged extra for every little thing.

This.

Cisco already outsourced the help desk function to someone. IBM? The techs in the local technical support centers are talented-at least in my TSC anyway-but their hands are tied by the fact that they can't help you unless there's a case opened and you (usually) have to be referred to them by the telephone/remote first tier response team that basically says "Let's re-image your system and restore your data from backup first to see if that fixes it. Follow these steps and get back to us."

The phone support is terrible. I'd rather go to the dentist for dental work w/ no pain k–lers than call the help(less) desk. The only time I deal with them is for hardware support so that they can refer me to the local TSC for a hot swap of my laptop.

Such a shame about Cisco IT. When I joined in 2002 it was a dynamic and vibrant workplace with experts, innovation and vision. An organization that could pioneer and lead in areas other companies struggled in and who complimented the stories that Cisco was selling.
By the time I left IT was a shell and morale was through the floor. I think most realized when the new CIO came in that the outcome would be to outsource everything to her industry friends. That was despite her lying though her teeth addressing the staff a year or so ago telling them it wasn't going to happen and that wasn't on her radar.
If you thought Cisco IT was bad (and I've worked in worse) , you are going to see a new level of it. Every company that outsources underestimates the value and versatility of their own IT department until they don't have one and get charged extra for every little thing.

"Cisco left tech and became a financial arbitrage company a decade ago. The don't care about engineers or technical c-ap or customers. Still surprises me to see comments from upset engineers and support. It's a sales company forget tech they don't care. "

This.

Cisco is a financial institution leveraging tech. They buy and sell companies, churn employees according to the consulting firms they engage top provide recommendations.

Rumor in IT is that most of the operations roles will be outsourced. There's an RFP out for pretty much all of internal IT. The CIO has a long history of doing this (with poor results) and the hammer is finally coming down. People have been leaving in droves.

Funny how Chuck is buying other companies and hiring external contractors while he talks about cost-cutting

Make that bread and circuses

Leave!!!
Nobody is holding a gun to your head to stay at Cisco.
I love Cisco. Puts bread on my table.

Cisco left tech and became a financial arbitrage company a decade ago. The don't care about engineers or technical c-ap or customers. Still surprises me to see comments from upset engineers and support. It's a sales company forget tech they don't care.

Comradery? It's a divide and distract culture now. Divide employees with social justice issues while quietly laying off departments.

Cisco was great in early 2000s. Only other place I experience TAC Team mentality was in the military. Worked for another great Director who made a serious effort to have great team comradery also for a good six years. We worked our behinds off but it was a great team. After that, things took a nosedive. Sad. Big power struggles seemingly at VP level. The comradery disappeared. Completely. Miss that time but still proud of the work.

Cisco needs to understand there was a bunch of smart people doing the work primarily not for the money, but because they loved it...in 2000s; especially TAC. That is gone, gone, gone.

Is that 2000-ish comradery anywhere still in the company?

I worked at Cisco for 11 years.. Loved the place when I was there till the end. I've been working at competitors since then, and recently the amount of people coming in to interview that are still working at Cisco is massive.

At the end of the day, Cisco isn't a bad company to work for, you can do a lot worse. However, it seems like a LOT of talent has left recently due more to the ER's then anything else. You can call them "old" but when you see DE's leaving all over the place, things cant be good. Thats knowledge you simply can't replace.

Quite a few people I know on various teams are all looking to leave. Nobody is happy with senior leadership and all the reorgs. Very poorly run company these days and is very much a sinking ship.

New reqs are mostly through temp agencies. Why hire full-time employees anymore?

I was laidoff from Cisco in 2014 and got laidoff again recently from a startup. It will be good for folks like me if more people leave cisco, so they open new reqs to which folks like me can apply.

Every company has this issue. At the end of the day it is a job. No need to be emotionally attached to any company unless you own it.

I left two years ago. LR.

I miss the old Cisco of the mid-2000s.

Still have lots of neighbors there. Most not happy.

Moving on was tough but after 18 years as blue badge, can honestly say have not been happier than with current job.

Took a long time to decompress. Interesting working in a place with limited work politics and grandstanding.

Probably would not come back even if offered a boatload more than what I made there.

Took much energy to put on a facade and not be truly genuine.

To all those staying, hope 2021 is better than 2020. And hoping you avoid LR.

Rats jumping off of a sinking ship. Where is the surprise in this news?

Wait,,, what it is not rainbows and unicorns? Sounds like everyone left wanted the package. My ex-boss and I are interviewing for the same job at a competitor and he is still at Cisco. What does that tell you.

Yep