Cisco sales forecast dim, cuts more jobs

San Francisco

CISCO Systems Inc, the biggest maker of equipment that runs the internet, gave a disappointing sales forecast that underscores the challenges facing its multibillion-dollar hardware business during an industry shift toward cheaper, software-based networking.

Revenue in the current period may decline as much as 6 per cent from a year earlier, the San Jose, California-based company said on Wednesday in a statement. That indicates sales of as little as US$11.9 billion, far short of the average analysts' projection of US$12.5 billion. Cisco also said it's cutting an additional 1,100 jobs on top of the 5,500 it announced in August.