Axe falls at Cisco

Cisco Systems, the No 1 maker of equipment to link computers, will cut 8500 jobs and write off as much as $US3.7 billion ($9 billion) this quarter amid a deepening slump in demand for its products.

Revenue in the fiscal third quarter ending April 28 will fall as much as 30 per cent from $US6.75 billion in the previous period, Cisco says.