Report: Oracle Slashes 500 Jobs

The Wall Street Journal Wednesday said the affected employees were in the company's software sales and consulting businesses in database management.

The paper cited inside sources, although an Oracle spokesperson declined to comment. The supposed jobs cuts, however, are fewer than the rumored 10 percent that was whispered on Wall Street.

With the reported job cuts, Oracle joins other tech companies slammed by the weak economy, most notably Nortel, which sought bankruptcy protection Wednesday. Other tech heavyweights that are also feeling pain include Lexmark, EMC, SAP, Nvidia and Seagate.

Last month, Oracle reported second-quarter results for the period ended Nov. 30, with an increase of 6 percent year-over-year to $5.6 billion. However, net income fell 1 percent to $1.3 billion. Revenue also took a hit, falling 3 percent to $1.6 billion.

For the current quarter, Oracle forecast revenue to grow between 8 percent and 11 percent in constant currency, while new software license revenue will range from a decrease of 2 percent to a gain of 8 percent in constant currency.

"It just seems obvious to me that their sales forces won't be as productive in a recession," JMP Securities analyst Patrick Walravens told the Journal."In order to protect earnings, they'll have to trim them."

Rick Whiting contributed to this report.