The latest round of layoffs includes 4,000 job cuts at Cisco, alongside significant reductions at PayPal and Cloudflare.

Industry analysts say the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence remains one of the key drivers behind the ongoing wave of job losses, as companies redirect investments toward automation, AI infrastructure, and high-growth technology segments.

Cisco to remove 4,000 employees

Cisco recently confirmed that it will reduce its workforce by nearly 4,000 employees, citing a strategic shift toward AI-focused growth areas.

In a company blog post, Cisco said: "The companies that will win in the AI era will be those with focus, urgency, and the discipline to continuously shift investment toward the areas where demand and long-term value creation are strongest."

The company added: "With this, we are making changes today that will result in the reduction of our overall workforce in Q4 by fewer than 4,000 jobs, representing less than 5 percent of our total employee base."

Explaining the rationale behind the move, Cisco said:
"While we are reducing roles in some areas, we are making clear, strategic investments — particularly in silicon, optics, security, and in our employees’ use of AI across the company."

Similar cuts across major firms

According to layoff tracker Layoffs.fyi, PayPal has reduced 4,760 employees, while Cloudflare has cut 1,100 jobs.

Several other major companies, including LinkedIn, Ticketmaster, ZoomInfo, Adda247, Bill.com, Arctic Wolf, Upwork, and Truecaller, also announced layoffs in May.

Full list of companies that announced layoffs in May

Cisco — Around 4,000 employees affected

LinkedIn — 875 job cuts

Guesty — 20 employees

Breadfast — 58 roles

MRI Software — Nearly 200 employees

GitLab — Figures not disclosed

ZoomInfo — 300 employees

Adda247 — Around 200 employees

Parker — Entire workforce

Staffbase — 176 positions

Cloudflare — 1,100 jobs

Bill.com — 709 employees

Ticketmaster — 350 employees

DeepL — 250 roles

Upwork — 151 employees

Truecaller — 70 employees

Arctic Wolf — 250 workers

Pocket FM — 100 positions

LSports — 40 employees

ApnaMart — 35 employees

reAlpha — Nearly 25% workforce reduction

PayPal — 4,760 employees

Coinbase — 700 jobs

Freshworks — 500 employees

OG — Figures undisclosed

Careem — Numbers not specified

Shopify — 30 employees impacted