Cisco is laying off up to 6,000 of its employees

Cisco Systems may be doing a little better than Wall Street expects, considering its technology and sales challenges. But that does not mean the company will avoid layoffs in the coming months. On Wednesday, Cisco released fourth-quarter earnings that illustrated its troubles as one of the tech industry’s giants competing in a rapidly changing environment. In a conference call with investors and analysts, Cisco executives said the company planned to cut up to 6,000 jobs, or 8 percent of its work force, in the coming months. They offered no specific timeline for the cuts. Long the dominant player in hardware that ships the world’s digital information around and between computer centers, Cisco faces challenges from younger companies that, while far from toppling the company from its perch as one of tech’s bellwethers, have made it harder for it to command the profit margins it once did. Fourth-quarter revenues, Cisco said, were $12.36 billion, down from $12.42 billion in the same quarter a year ago. Net income was $2.25 billion, or 43 cents a share, down from $2.27 billion a year ago.