Cisco axes 1,300 jobs and gets EC nod to acquire NDS

Cisco is to cut 1,300 of its workforce as part of its restructuring plans and has been given permission by the European Commission (EC) to acquire television software developer NDS Group for $5bn (£3.2bn).

In a statement, Karen Tillman, vice-president of corporate communications at Cisco, said: "We routinely review our business to determine where we need to align investment based on growth opportunities. Additionally, we continue to evaluate our organisational structure as part of our plan to drive simplicity, speed of decisions and agility across Cisco.

"As we focus on both of these efforts, we are performing a focused set of limited restructurings that will collectively impact approximately two per cent of our global employee population. These actions, subject to local legal requirements, including consultation where required, are part of a continuous process of simplifying the company, as well as assessing the economic environment in certain parts of the world," she said.

Just after announcing the cuts, the EC approved Cisco's £3.2bn acquisition of video software and content security solution provider NDS. The networking giant had announced its intent to buy NDS in March but had to gain regulatory approval.

The EC confirmed that the merged entity would "continue to face competition from a number of strong competitors and that customers, namely pay-TV providers, would continue to have alternative suppliers in all markets concerned".

NDS's 5,000 employees from its UK, Israel, France, India and China sites and other global operations will join the Cisco Service Provider Video Technology Group.