Investing.com -- Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins told CNBC on Thursday that surging demand for artificial intelligence tools and equipment is pushing the industry toward a "networking supercycle."

The company's shares jumped over 15% and headed for their best day in more than two decades after Cisco blew past its AI infrastructure and hyperscaler guidance orders for the fiscal year. The company raised its forecast to $9 billion from $5 billion.

The California-based networking equipment maker said it will cut about 5% of its workforce, or under 4,000 jobs, at a charge of roughly $1 billion as it shifts focus toward AI-focused segments, silicon, and optics.

"Given the speed at which the market is moving, we need to make a rapid reallocation of resources," Robbins told CNBC. "By the way, a lot of the people that are potentially impacted will actually go take those jobs."

Cisco expects to recognize approximately $450 million of these charges in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, with the remaining amount to be recognized during fiscal 2027. The company described the charges as primarily cash-based.

Robbins said the nature of the AI market makes it difficult to lock in forward bookings projections and that the company has opted out of some projects with hyperscalers.

"We don't have visibility completely yet, but we have enough understanding of our relationship and the design wins and what their capital commitments are that we feel good about where we're headed," he said.

Robbins also commented on the Mythos model that has prompted White House meetings with top tech leaders. He said the company is now discussing the AI model with every customer.

Cisco is part of Anthropic's Project Glasswing, which gave access to a select group of businesses last month to test the model and its cybersecurity implications.

"You have to be agile, and you have to be ready to move," Robbins said.