While 75% of the top 100 Israeli tech companies surveyed said they had been affected by Operation Protective Edge, the problems associated with the ongoing war were merely exacerbating pre-existing issues in the industry, including lower demand. While orders were delayed because of the war and some tech workers were called up among the 80, 000 others who had to serve as soldiers, 80% of these managements said they are uncertain of what effect the conflict will have on business. Because of this uncertainty, few are expressing a desire to hire in large numbers, but actual cutbacks in labor are due to larger companies like Cisco slashing budgets and not because of the fight against Hamas.
Cisco reported declining revenues and said it would cut 20% of its work force. Around 300 Israeli employees of Cisco may expect to be laidoff. Peli Hanamer, CEO of Israel PC Group, said “The slowdown in IT reflected in the survey is not necessarily directly connected to Operation Protective Edge. The slowdown has apparently been some time in the making.” Hanamer added, “The companies in Israel are strong and determined to succeed. I am optimistic and believe the industry will be able to weather this crisis as well.”
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