Cisco plans to shed 8,500 jobs worldwide in response to an expected 30 per cent fall in third-quarter revenues. And its planned European headquarters at Green Park in Reading, Berkshire could be a victim of the cuts.
John Chambers, president and CEO, cited the US and Europe as the areas where its markets were showing weakness, and he said that to cut costs the company would consolidate the facilities it occupies.
Last year Cisco stunned the UK office market by taking a series of options on one million sq ft of offices at the Prudential's Green Park. But so far the company has only committed itself to taking 600,000 sq ft.
It has 98,000 sq ft under construction at 300 Longwater Avenue, 87,500 sq ft at 100 Brook Drive and 130,000 sq ft at 300 South Oak Way. All three are due for completion between December 2001 and February 2002.
In addition, work was due to start imminently on 200,000 sq ft at 400 and 450 South Oak Way, with completion expected in November 2002. But there is now a question mark over the rest of the site, including the proposed European headquarters building, to be designed by leading architect Lord Foster.
Cisco's European spokeswoman Imogen Bailey told GlobeSt.com: 'Our plans as regards Reading are still under discussion. We always have a phased approach to everything we build.'
The financial problems faced by US companies has already had an impact on the UK market: last month Motorola pulled out of a planned 500,000 sq ft deal at Farnborough, Surrey.
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