ROMANIA: ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND FOR ACE AWARD NOMINATION FOR

UNCLAS BUCHAREST 000546 SENSITIVE STATE FOR EUR/CE ASCHIEBE AND EEB/EPPD NSMITH-NISSLEY, JPURL SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ELAB ETRD KSEP SENV RO SUBJECT: ROMANIA: ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND FOR ACE AWARD NOMINATION FOR ORACLE REF: A) GUTHRIE-CORN/SMITH-NISSLEY JUNE 10 EMAIL B) STATE 78538 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. ¶1. (U) This cable provides the additional information requested in ref B to support post's nomination of Oracle Romania for the Secretary's Award for Corporate Excellence (ref A). ¶2. (SBU) The Country Team continues to wholeheartedly support Oracle Romania's nomination for this prestigious award. Oracle Romania is a model employer and operates with the highest possible ethical standards. Recognition of Oracle Romania would reflect positively on the United States of America. The Country Team is not aware of any potential risk of embarrassment that would result from Oracle's selection. Post notes that the Country Manager of Oracle Romania, a Romanian citizen, was elected in March 2009 to a one-year term as President of the Board of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Romania, and in that position coordinates closely with post on a wide range of policy and advocacy issues of interest to AmCham member companies. However, the manager's position with AmCham was not a factor in post's decision to nominate Oracle. ¶3. (U) Oracle software sold in Romania reflects the input of a multinational team of developers, including many in the United States. While collaboration takes place on a worldwide basis, with teams from Romania contributing to the final product, Oracle employs 28,000 workers in the United States alone. The constant drive for innovation in the competitive IT sector creates an ongoing need for highly-skilled and well-paying jobs in the U.S. ¶4. (U) Oracle employs a largely professional workforce in Romania of programmers and managers; it has no unionized employees. Labor conditions are good and positions with the company are highly sought after in the local market. ¶5. (SBU) Oracle Romania has no significant litigation pending against the company. There is one wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed by a former employee currently in the courts. This is the second lawsuit this former employee has filed against the company after being dismissed twice for disciplinary reasons. Post believes that its mere existence does not reflect negatively on Oracle, which employs more than 1,400 other Romanian workers. ¶6. (SBU) Neither the Chief of Mission nor any Embassy employee involved in this nomination holds any direct financial stake in Oracle. Some involved staff do own shares in broad-based mutual funds which invest in Oracle stock as a small portion of their portfolio holdings, but these staff do not own any Oracle stock directly. GUTHRIE-CORN