Cisco CEO: Tech Companies Benefit First in Recovery

Technology companies are the first companies to get a boost from a recovering economy as more companies upgrade their technology, said John Chambers, CEO of Cisco

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"When economies start to recover you apply first technology, get your productivity up, then you add jobs if it continues normally," said Chambers in an interview with CNBC in Davos, Switzerland at the World Economic Forum.

Despite the downturn, Chambers says the tech company has been investing in the business heavily, moving into other areas like entertainment, security and smart grids.

"We predicted this, unfortunately, a few years ago saying we saw something unusual in the finance industry," he said. "We felt the downturn would be deeper and longer than people thought and we made our changes 1 to 2 years ago. Then we got the most aggressive we've ever been—five acquisitions in a period of two months at the end of the year."

Chambers said he expects the company expects to increase headcount in U.S. as well as around the world from 2,000-3,000 jobs in the next two to three quarters.

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