Job Cuts Amid Pandemic

Cisco, McAfee, Mimecast, VMware, Forcepoint and Shenandoah Telecommunications (Shentel) have all pink-slipped workers in recent months.

Shenandoah Telecommunications (Shentel) is cutting about 340 workers, or 30% of its workforce, as it prepares to sell Shentel Wireless to T-Mobile. T-Mobile is acquiring the Shentel assets for nearly $2 billion in cash.

In the aftermath of its acquisition by Francisco Partners, Forcepoint channel partners learned the company laid off most of its North America channel team. About 10 channel employees have lost their jobs. That includes Mark Nehring. He was Forcepoint’s vice president of North America channel sales for more than two years.

VMware cut more than 100 jobs starting in late March. That included 93 who worked at VMware’s Palo Alto, California, headquarters, and 14 who worked remotely.

Eighty Mimecast employees lost their jobs earlier this year as the company’s growth remains below its pre-pandemic expectations. The layoffs represented 4% of the company’s 2,000-member workforce.

More than 130 McAfee employees were let go in March as the cybersecurity company cut its corporate headquarters workforce. Some worked in McAfee’s headquarters in San Jose, California, and others worked remotely and reside outside of California.

Finally, Cisco laid off 101 workers in San Jose in December as part of a cost-cutting and restructuring effort. Data scientists, software engineers, project managers and technical leaders are among the eliminated positions.