Cisco has shelved plans to establish a Scottish office that would have housed staff from two of its existing three centres in the country.

The economic slowdown has forced the networking giant to review its long-term real estate plans and drop plans to unify its Bellshill and Cumbernauld offices, Cisco spokeswoman Angela Hesse told us.

Each of Cisco's three facilities (which also includes an office in Edinburgh) will remain "intact" but the decision will come as a blow to the City of Glasgow, the front running location for the site, which hoped the facility would lead to the creation of new jobs in the area.

Cisco operates a decentralised operation throughout Europe and reports that it intended to establish a new European headquarters are inaccurate, the company tells us.

Last year, Cisco announced plans to shed 8,500 as a slowdown in telecom spending hit its revenues. At its peak the firm employed 48,000, including around 4,000 temporary workers.

Recent financial statements by the firm indicate sales have improved since then. In November, Cisco posted income of $332 million on the back of $4.4 billion sales in Q1. Taking into account one-time charges, the firm recorded an actual net loss is $268.

Q1 sales were up three per cent from the previous quarter, but 32 per cent down from the $6.5 billion recorded in Q1 2001. ®

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