SF CEO changes one word in subject line of 2nd layoff letter of year

Splunk, a large San Francisco-based tech firm in the midst of a sale to Cisco, is laying off hundreds of workers for the second time this year.

The firm announced the layoff in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated Tuesday. A letter from CEO Gary Steele that was sent Wednesday to employees, or “Splunkers,” as they are called, was attached. In it, Steele wrote that approximately 7% of the cybersecurity firm’s global workforce would lose their jobs, and that the $28 billion sale to Cisco is not to blame.

Steele wrote that the layoffs are “a continuation of the important initiatives we’ve undertaken across Splunk for more than a year to align our resources and operating structure.” In other words, cuts and then more cuts: Though Splunk employed roughly 8,000 workers at the end of January, per an SEC filing from earlier this year, the company laid off about 325 employees in February. The 7% layoff round announced Wednesday will likely affect around 500 more workers.

The company is headquartered in San Francisco, with five other offices in the U.S., including one in San Jose. Splunk spokesperson Patricia Hogan declined to answer SFGATE’s questions about the geographic distribution of the job cuts and the size of the firm’s severance packages. 

Cisco’s acquisition of Splunk was announced in September and will likely close in the third quarter of 2024, CNBC reported, adding considerably to the already gigantic Bay Area tech stalwart. Both firms sell cybersecurity products, but Cisco is about two decades older and eight times larger by market cap.

Splunk will bring its security products and tools for monitoring company data to Cisco in the acquisition. The firm boasts Papa Johns, REI Co-op and Heineken as customers, according to its website.

Though the layoff may feel like déjà vu for Splunk employees, Steele made sure to switch up his condolences. He titled February’s layoff letter, “Evolving for Splunk’s Future” and expressed his “gratitude” for the contributions the laid-off workers had made to the firm and its customers. This time, it was “Transforming for Splunk’s Future” and he expressed his “deep appreciation.”

Hear of anything happening at Splunk or another tech company? Contact tech reporter Stephen Council securely at [email protected] or on Signal at 628-204-5452.