Networking giant Juniper Networks Inc. is laying off about 440 employees globally at a cost of $59 million.

The disclosure was made in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and was signed off on by the company on Sept. 29 but was foreshadowed alongside Juniper’s quarterly earnings reports on July 29.

Along with its earnings report, Juniper Chief Executive Officer Rami Rahim said on a conference call that cloud service providers have been reducing their orders for network infrastructure gear such as routers and switches. “We are currently facing some near-term order weakness from our cloud and, to a lesser degree, our service provider customers,” Rahim said on the call.

Fewer orders mean less money and less demand for workers. Juniper is a major supplier of computer networking hardware such as routers and Ethernet switches. Like its main rivals such as Cisco Systems Inc., the company also has a sizable business selling network management software for enterprises.

The slowing sales experienced by Juniper was also reflected in its outlook, which for the quarter ending Sept. 30 was revised downward to $1.38 billion, plus or minus $50 million, when analysts had been expecting a forecast of $1.48 billion. Juniper is expected to deliver results for its fiscal third quarter later this month.

According to the SEC filing, Juniper said that the majority of layoffs are expected to be completed by the end of its fiscal first quarter of 2024, depending on local law and consultation requirements.

“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.”

In addition, Juniper also disclosed that it had approved an expansion of its restructuring plan, first approved during the first half of 2023 and previously disclosed in its previous quarterly report, with approximately $14 million in costs relating to asset impairments.

Photo: Juniper Networks