Juniper Networks to lay off 440 workers as part of $59M restructuring plan

Juniper Networks today said it is laying off 440 workers amidst a $59 million restructuring plan.

The restructuring strategy is the result of a review of the company’s business objectives, and it is intended to focus on realigning resources and investments in long-term growth opportunities, the networking vendor wrote in an SEC 8K filing.

“The company believes the plan will further allow it to continue to prudently manage operating expenses in order to deliver improved operating margin,” Juniper wrote. “Total costs currently estimated to be incurred in connection with the Plan are approximately $59 million, of which approximately $48 million are expected to result in cash expenditures.”

Juniper stated it expects the layoffs to be “substantially completed” by the end of the first quarter of 2024. 

The growing investments that the restructuring plan referred to likely include enterprise networking gear. In the first quarter of 2022, for the first time in Juniper’s history, its enterprise networking business was the largest of its three core divisions: cloud, service provider, and enterprise. Enterprise networking revenue grew 18% year over year in Q1 to $433 million. The company is heavily involved in supporting cloud and AI development as well.

In its most recent financial report, Juniper said that its AI-driven enterprise revenue continued to materially outpace the market, growing 17% year over the year. This growth was led by its Mist AI portfolio, which grew more than 60% year over year, achieving another record quarter, the company stated. 

In addition, Juniper recently upgraded its Apstra software – another growth area – with management features designed to make complicated data centers easier to operate. The vendor added intent-based analytics probes for telemetry and network visibility as well as support for HashiCorp’s Terraform network provisioning tool.