Business software maker Oracle Corp. said on Thursday that it will cut about 2,000 jobs, or more than three per cent of its work force, as it digs for bigger profits from its recent $5.85 billion takeover of Siebel Systems Inc.The California-based Oracle inherited 4,700 Siebel workers in the acquisition, but most of the cuts will be concentrated among emplo-yees on the company payroll before the deal closed last week, chief executive Larry Ellison told analysts during a conference call.
About 90 per cent of Sieb-el’s customer support, engineering and sales staff is being retained, Mr Ellison said. After the purge is completed, Oracle will employ 55,000 workers worldwide, according to Safra Catz, Oracle’s chief financial officer. The cost cutting should lower Oracle’s expenses by at least $400 million annually, Catz said.Oracle already has handed out pink slips to some of the affected employees and expects to complete most of the layoffs during the next few weeks, spokesman Bob Wynne said.
The job cuts fell within the range projected by industry analysts nearly five months ago when Oracle announced plans to buy Siebel, a once-bitter rival that had been mired in a deep sales slump.
Besides providing details about the reduction, Oracle also lowered its profit projections for the rest of its fiscal year. Excluding acquisition charges and other expe-nses to its continuing business, Oracle expects to earn 18 cents per share during the current quarter, a penny below the average estimate among analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
In the following quarter, Oracle expects to earn 26 cents per share, excluding certain expenses, also a pen-ny below analyst estimates.
Oracle’s shares gained 12 cents to close at $12.69 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, then backtracked by 8 cents in extended trading.
About 90 per cent of Sieb-el’s customer support, engineering and sales staff is being retained, Mr Ellison said. After the purge is completed, Oracle will employ 55,000 workers worldwide, according to Safra Catz, Oracle’s chief financial officer. The cost cutting should lower Oracle’s expenses by at least $400 million annually, Catz said.Oracle already has handed out pink slips to some of the affected employees and expects to complete most of the layoffs during the next few weeks, spokesman Bob Wynne said.
The job cuts fell within the range projected by industry analysts nearly five months ago when Oracle announced plans to buy Siebel, a once-bitter rival that had been mired in a deep sales slump.
Besides providing details about the reduction, Oracle also lowered its profit projections for the rest of its fiscal year. Excluding acquisition charges and other expe-nses to its continuing business, Oracle expects to earn 18 cents per share during the current quarter, a penny below the average estimate among analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
In the following quarter, Oracle expects to earn 26 cents per share, excluding certain expenses, also a pen-ny below analyst estimates.
Oracle’s shares gained 12 cents to close at $12.69 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, then backtracked by 8 cents in extended trading.