Cisco laying off 5,500 employees, or 7 percent of workforce

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Cisco Systems says it will lay off 5,500 employees as the internet gear maker scrambles to adapt to technology changes that have reduced demand for its main products.

The shake-up announced Wednesday means about 7 percent of Cisco’s roughly 78,000 workers will lose their jobs beginning this summer.

The purge is the latest example of the upheaval that has rocked some of the world’s oldest and biggest technology companies as the relentless march of innovation forces them to head in new directions in search of revenue growth.

In Cisco’s case, its business has been hurt as more of its corporate customers rely on remote data centers for their computing needs instead of online networks maintained on their own premises.