Firm sheds six per cent of European workforce to improve operating margin.

Oracle will be cutting up to 1,000 jobs in Europe, according to the French trade union CFDT.

The decision was announced at the European Works Council and the Comité d'Entreprise France on 29 and 30 June, the CFDT said.

Oracle said that the cuts were necessary after growth had been significantly less than expected, and that the company needed to maintain a good enough operating margin to fund research, innovation, policy and external growth through acquisitions, according to the union.

Oracle reported a single-digit drop in both sales and profit for its latest financial quarter (PDF). Revenue of $6.9bn (£4.2bn) was down five per cent from the same period last year, while fourth-quarter net income of $1.9bn represented a seven per cent decline.

The CDFT, which is the largest trade union in France, said that 850 to 1,000 jobs will be cut in Europe, which is roughly six per cent of Oracle's workforce, and 250 of these positions will be axed from France.

Unite, the UK's largest trade union, could not say how many positions will be affected in the UK.

Oracle could not immediately be reached for comment, but the firm tends not to publicise layoffs.

In January, Oracle staff said that the company was reducing its overall headcount by about 10 per cent, but the rumours were never officially confirmed. However, the company's financial statement in June showed that it spent $71m (£43m) on restructuring charges during the quarter.