Software maker Orcale Corporation is planning to hire 2,000 people in sales and engineering department, as the company is near to close its long-delayed acquisition of Sun Microsystems Inc.In an interview to 'The Wall Street Journal', Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison said that he is setting a new course for Oracle that includes hiring 2,000 sales and engineering employees and developing a line of high-end computer systems.He said his planned new hires would outnumber the cuts Oracle is making in Sun's head count, which stood at 27,596 as of 30th of September.Oracle, which had 83,366 employees at the end of November, was widely expected to slash Sun's workforce.Oracle announced in April its intention to acquire Sun for 7.4 billion dollars, but the acquisition was delayed by an in-depth review by European antitrust regulators.