The company sites the difficult economic climate as the reason for the layoffs, which are set to begin in 2014.
Cisco designs, manufactures and sells networking equipment. Shares of Cisco stock plunged 10 percent in after-hours trading Wednesday at the news.
The stock has initially slipped 4 percent after Cisco released lower-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter, even though Cisco grew its earnings and revenue in the latest quarter as demand for its computer networking equipment grew.
Cisco earned $2.23 billion, or 42 cents per share, in the three months that ended on July 27. That's up from $1.92 billion, or 36 cents per share, a year earlier.
Adjusted earnings were 52 cents per share in the latest quarter, squeaking past Wall Street's expectations by a penny. Revenue rose 6 percent to $12.42 billion from $11.69 billion. FactSet says analysts expected revenue of $12.41 billion.
Cisco's performance is widely regarded as a bellwether for the technology industry because the San Jose, California, company cuts a broad swath, selling routers, switches, software and services to corporate customers and government agencies.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
