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Following completion of its PeopleSoft acquisition, Oracle is in the process of a mass layoff of staff that's expected to cut thousands of jobs, Infoworld reports.

And it's not just PeopleSoft employees who will go - reports such as Infoworld's talk only of 'cuts' and 'layoffs' without specifying which company.

Some financial analysts are expecting deep cuts, Infoworld says, quoting a Piper Jaffray analyst's expectation that Oracle will cut at least 4,500 jobs now, and ultimately up to 6,000. Current headcount is 11,700 at PeopleSoft and about 54,500 at Oracle.

Layoffs inevitably follow acquisitions. Infoworld says that PeopleSoft cut 1,000 positions following its 2003 acquisition of J.D. Edwards, and Hewlett-Packard shed more than 17,000 jobs after swallowing Compaq. Oracle has not commented on which departments will bear the brunt of its cuts.

Oracle is also planning to announce broad organizational changes, Infoworld says, as the company works to define a strategy for both its PeopleSoft and Oracle products.

More details are expected to be announced on 18 January when Oracle launches the integration of Oracle and PeopleSoft.

The InfoWorld article.

Neville Hobson is the author of the popular NevilleHobson.com blog which focuses on business communication and technology. Neville is currentlly the VP of New Marketing at Crayon. Visit Neville Hobson's blog: NevilleHobson.com.