Is Cisco's business outlook really 'challenged' this time?

One day Cisco CEO John Chambers is describing the business outlook as "extremely challenging", the next he's saying the outlook is brighter and that he's "more comfortable with 12% to 17% long- term growth than I was a month or two ago.'' Well, the outlook seems to be back in the negative again, according to a story in Fortune, which suggests that the network giant is "bracing for a downturn." Fortune is citing "sources close to the company," as saying that Cisco has told some managers to limit travel expenses and to use up accumulated vacation days. A Cisco spokesperson told Fortune that the company "constantly reviews ways to streamline and optimize business processes for improved efficiency and increased shareholder value. We are going to be aggressive, which means we may prioritize in some areas of expense in order to be aggressive in others." According to the story, analysts say Cisco is considering bigger cuts, including cutting its workforce, if warranted. The idea of looming job cuts was first brought up by GigaOm in February.

Related reading:
* Is Cisco preparing for layoffs?
* Cisco: First came job cuts rumors, now bonuses are sliced in half

More from Cisco Subnet:
* Cisco's first Patch Wednesday produces five IOS alerts
* Nortel: Avoid Cisco feature creep
* CCNP lab essentials
* I Can Fix Anything With a Tunnel
* Jeff Doyle: Understanding MPLS
* Cisco slams independent 11n tests as 'flawed'

Go to Cisco Subnet for more Cisco news, blogs, discussion forums, security alerts, book giveaways, and more.

- 20 useful sites for Cisco networking professionals
- Cisco Subnet's Top 20 Cisco Press books: How do you rate them?
-This month's Cisco Subnet giveaways
- Network World's IT Buyer's Guide: Cisco products
- Subscribe to Network World's Cisco Alert, which includes a weekly digest of all Cisco Subnet items  

• Cisco
• GigaOm
• John Chambers
• layoffs