Last summer, the company, which is known for its network telecommunications equipment, announced its intention to completely leave the Russian market. In the financial statements of one of the legal entities of Cisco in Russia – Cisco Systems – it is said: inventories in the amount of 1.86 billion rubles have been destroyed. Another legal entity, Cisco Solutions, reported on the liquidation of stocks for another 1.1 billion. According to TASS, this happened due to the cessation of sales and the impossibility of re-export. The list mainly includes spare parts for equipment. It is specified: in the amount of 3.3 million rubles, vehicles, office furniture, appliances and demonstration equipment were destroyed.
It follows from the reporting that Cisco Systems last summer terminated most of the employment contracts with its employees by agreement of the parties. Payments to personnel and mandatory contributions amounted to about 190 million rubles. At the end of 2022, only five people remained in the company. At the end of 2021, there were 60 of them. Cisco Solutions has a similar situation: 18 people at the end of 2022 versus 253 a year earlier.
Where could the technology go? Is she really physically no more? This is unlikely, Leonid Konik, CEO of the ComNews group of companies, is sure:
“Something tells me that according to the documents, all this equipment was destroyed, but the graders, tractors and rollers picturing in the imagination are not what happened. Something tells me that this equipment eventually reached end users through one or another half-friendly, half-gray channels and ended up in the hands of those who needed it, and was not rolled into asphalt with a skating rink. If only because any large company, such as Cisco, is still considering a return to the Russian market in some medium term.”
The expert drew attention to the fact that in Russia, de jure, another Cisco legal entity continues to exist – Cisco Solutions. Bankruptcy proceedings have not even begun. 100% of the shares both there and in Cisco Systems belong to structures that are controlled by the main, American Cisco.
There is no shortage of the company’s products on the Russian market, the expert emphasizes. In Russia, there are even specialists who provide technical support for such products. All this, of course, has no official relation to Cisco. The company at least distanced itself from Russia. Due to all the new measures of the West, the logistics of supplies by parallel imports may become more complicated. The price will go up accordingly.
Denis Kuskov, CEO of the TelecomDaily analytical agency, notes that the information about the destruction of equipment looks strange. It would be much wiser to try to sell at least something.
“Unfortunately or fortunately, I don’t know how it happened physically. It is clear that the equipment is in a fairly large amount. I think that part of this equipment simply leaked somewhere in an unknown direction, and not only was destroyed. The very fact of this is somewhat surprising. If shipping abroad is associated with logistical problems with the start of the SVO and difficulties in organizing, then the sale of some part of the equipment, at least under existing contracts, would be much more logical and bring a certain amount as revenue.
Last year, Western companies left the country en masse, quickly wrapping up their businesses. Some of the Russian employees of the corporation were taken with them. Many have been made redundant. Equipment was often abandoned here. Sometimes it ended up in the hands of laid-off workers who previously had access to it. Then already – on the sites of private ads and in the “gray” stores. It is possible that something similar could happen with Cisco switches and routers.
