Discussion

Is anyone else feeling like a number after the 8/29 announcement?

0x2e8f…59bc

·11d ago·2 comments

I’ve been at Cisco for over six years, and I’ve never seen the collective morale this low. The August 29th news wasn't a total surprise given the rumors, but the timing is just insulting. We are hitting our targets, the products are selling, yet we get rewarded with a target on our backs. It feels like the company is just shuffling chairs on the Titanic while the leadership tries to inflate the stock price for the next quarter. I spent the morning watching Slack channels go quiet one by one. It’s hard to stay motivated when you know your contributions don't matter as much as the quarterly margin adjustments. Is it just me, or is the culture totally unrecognizable now compared to a few years ago? I’m seriously considering jumping ship to a smaller firm where I’m actually treated like a human being instead of a line item in a spreadsheet. Anyone else polishing up their resume tonight?

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Comments (2)

0x1cd8…e6e5

·11d ago

I’m right there with you. Six years of hitting metrics and pushing projects across the finish line just to be treated like an expense on a spreadsheet. It’s incredibly demoralizing to watch talented colleagues get the boot while leadership talks about 'strategic pivots' and stock buybacks. The office vibe is completely dead today, and frankly, I don’t see how they expect anyone to stay focused when the floor could drop out at any moment. It’s not just a bad quarter; it’s a total shift in how this company values human capital.

0x532e…653d

·11d ago

Honestly, the writing has been on the wall for a while, but that doesn't make the reality any easier to swallow. We all know how this game is played—trim the fat to make the balance sheet look pretty for the analysts, regardless of the long-term impact on engineering or product stability. Watching those Slack channels go dark is heartbreaking, especially knowing how much effort went into those teams. At this point, I’m just updating my resume and waiting for the dust to settle. This isn't the same culture it used to be.