Extract from IEEE Spectrum News (22 March 2019) "Oracle takes a page out of IBM's playbook this week, with unannounced layoffs, rationalized by a restructuring to the cloud, and little acknowledgement that they are happening" Yesterday, Oracle swung the layoff axe. The exact numbers of employees cut and their specific roles have not been reported by the company, but the layoffs are clearly significant. Fifty in Mexico, 50 in New Hampshire, 100 in India, at least that many in Silicon Valley-the numbers, according to anecdotal reports on theLayoff. com and from internal chatter, are adding up quickly. Rumours are flying, but the count appears to be heading into the thousands worldwide, with the lowest estimate at 500. One anonymous poster on theLayoff.com, a site that hosts discussion boards for people affected by layoffs, appeared to offer real numbers, indicating that the total target is 10 percent of Oracle's global head count, which in 2018 was around 137,000. Cuts will be made in three phases this year, he indicated, with around 5000 employees cut in this first phase