Cisco Pledges $225M To Fight Global Coronavirus Pandemic

Cisco Systems Inc. CSCO has pledged $225 million in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak worldwide.

What Happened

Chief executive officer Chuck Robbins, in a statement on Sunday, said that the telecommunications equipment maker would allocate $8 million in cash and $210 million to various institutions leading the fight against COVID-19 including the World Health Organization, national governments, and non-profit organizations.

The company will also match employee donations up to $4 million and has allocated another $1 million in grants for non-profit organizations, Robbins added.

"People who were already vulnerable are facing even more risks to their health, stability, housing, and well-being," Robbins noted on the effects of the pandemic.

"Nonprofits are struggling to serve their populations as the number of volunteers declines due to social distancing practices and donations are at-risk due to financial concerns."

Why It Happens

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has severely impacted small businesses and low-income individuals with no immediate end in sight. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases globally has risen to 336,004 over the weekend, with 14,641 people reported dead, according to the data from Johns Hopkins University.

Cisco had previously committed to pay full wages to its hourly workers during the pandemic, irrespective of the hours they could work or were required to work.

A number of other established Silicon Valley companies have announced similar COVID-19 response packages, including Facebook Inc. FB, Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ), Apple Inc. AAPL, and Microsoft Incorporation MSFT over the course of the last two months.

Price Action

Cisco's shares closed 5.6% lower at $35.6 on Friday. The shares traded slightly lower at $35.49 in the after-hours session.