Over the past year, Cisco publicly looked like one of the few tech companies that had avoided internal backlash over its response to the war in Gaza. Chuck Robbins, the CEO of the Silicon Valley giant known for its routers, cybersecurity services, and WebEx video calling, issued a statement last November acknowledging the suffering of both Israelis and Palestinians.
And as recently as two months ago, Francine Katsoudas, Cisco’s chief people, policy, and purpose officer, smiled as she posed for photos with many of the company’s employee organizations, including the one for Palestinians. However, this photo later became a source of significant contention within the company.
Behind the scenes, eight current and one former employee who spoke with WIRED allege, Cisco has marginalized its internal Palestinian advocacy groups and their hundreds of members. Throughout a turbulent period beginning this past July, the people allege that the company has failed to promptly and adequately police harassment of Palestinian employees and their allies on its intra-company forums despite detailed complaints. They further allege that Cisco halted an internal petition calling for limiting sales to Israel over potential human rights concerns.
“We have been targeted and harassed, sabotaged and defamed,” says João Silva Jordão, a software licensing manager in Lisbon who quit Cisco last month in disgust after four years at the company. “I was led to believe my humanitarian side was welcome at Cisco, but I was absolutely defrauded. It’s double standards and hypocrisy.”
Meanwhile, another recent ex-employee, who was fired, says some Jewish workers at Cisco believe the company has not adequately stopped harassment against them by the Palestinian groups. This person criticized executives for not doing more to shut down war discussions by workers on both sides. “Things could have been done by leadership to reduce the mess across the board,” he says. “It’s sad that more wasn’t done.”
Brian Tippens, Cisco’s chief social impact and inclusion officer, refutes the accusations of marginalization and unequal treatment. He says Cisco’s focus has been on the well-being of all of its 90,000 employees, and he apologizes to any who feel the company hasn’t lived up to its humanitarian goals.
Tippens tells WIRED that Cisco doesn’t want to shut down what it views as political speech altogether, but has issued what it calls Expressions Guidelines amid the internal unrest to encourage civility and respect.