The word internally at Sun is that the layoffs are “absolutely untrue” reports Andy Patrizio at InternetNews.com but “sources close to the merger have said that significant layoffs are all but a given once the deal closes.” With two large firms, one can only expect that there are overlapping job functions as well as many viewing Sun as having too many projects and efforts that yield no income.
With an estimated 27,600 employees, estimates say that about 13,800 employees will be put on the street—helping Oracle to make a cut into the estimated $100 million loss every month experienced by Sun and reach a $1.5 billion in non-GAAP operating income in the first year after acquisition.
And while much of the acquisition hinges on approval by the EU (deadline January 27), spokespeople for both Oracle and Sun have shied from any comment or speculation on layoff rumors. And, as some comfort to current Sun employees, InternetNews.com also obtained an internal memo by Brian Sutphin, executive vice president for corporate development and alliances at Sun, disputed current analyst positions and “reassuring employees that it was not based on any information provided by Oracle.” And Sutphin added “Oracle is acquiring Sun to do something it cannot do alone — deliver complete, integrated systems. Oracle will need to rely heavily on the talents of Sun employees to achieve this vision.”
Andy Patrizio is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.