Oracle Corp is to cut its Vietnamese workforce by 60% in response to the Asian economic crisis. The company will lose 50 of its 80 staff at the Hanoi operation, but has been quick to point out that the reductions don’t mean Oracle’s business in Vietnam is under threat and expects to generate the same amount in revenue. Oracle has invested $1.6m in the region since it became the first foreign software company to open a fully foreign-owned entity in Vietnam in 1995, according to Asia BizTech. The Vietnamese government granted a license to Oracle to operate in the country on the condition it would transfer new technology and train local software designers and technicians. Software accounts for just 5% of Vietnam’s information technology market, with hardware accounting for 82%. Analysts forecast the software share will increase to between 8% and 10% by the end of the year.
