Jobs axe falls as fewer clients consult Oracle

Oracle Corporation, the US software giant, is to make 270 people redundant in the UK as the downturn in the technology market deepens.

The cuts are to be made at Oracle's consultancy division based in Reading, and almost 9 per cent of the UK workforce will lose their jobs.

The company, run by Larry Ellison, one of the world's richest men, has so far been relatively resilient to the economic downturn.

Earlier this year it announced a global 1-2 per cent reduction in its 42,000-strong workforce. This cut, however, is well below that of some of its rivals. Siebel Systems, for example, said in July that it would lay off 16 per cent of its workforce.

In a statement, Oracle said: "No organisation is immune to the current economic crisis. That said, Oracle is constantly re-evaluating business critical staffing allocations as part of the ongoing efforts to consolidate operations."

However, the company is understood to be planning to expand in the European market, by targeting the software market for small to medium-sized businesses. Oracle has a stranglehold on the corporate software sector but wants to form alliances with existing UK-based software companies to resell its products to smaller companies.