Oracle Layoffs 2026: US tech giant Oracle may start one of the biggest restructuring exercises in its history as the company grapples with rising costs from its aggressive push into artificial intelligence infrastructure.
According to a Bloomberg report, Oracle is planning layoffs that could eventually reach 20,000 to 30,000 employees across several business units. The job cuts could begin as early as this month.
The move comes as the company struggles to manage the huge capital requirements needed to build AI data centres as part of its partnership with OpenAI, led by Sam Altman.
Oracle had earlier disclosed in a regulatory filing that the restructuring plan could cost as much as $1.6 billion in the current fiscal year, including severance payments. This would make it the most expensive restructuring exercise the company has undertaken so far.
People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the layoffs may target roles that Oracle believes could become redundant because of AI-driven automation.
At the same time, the company has also slowed or frozen hiring in its cloud division while it reviews open job positions. Oracle had around 162,000 employees globally as of May 2025. The company declined to comment on the report.
The financial pressure stems largely from Chairman Larry Ellison’s strategy to transform Oracle from a traditional database company into a serious competitor to Amazon and Microsoft in the AI cloud market.
A key pillar of that strategy is Oracle’s $300 billion partnership with OpenAI. According to estimates by TD Cowen, the plan could require around $156 billion in capital expenditure and roughly 3 million GPUs to power massive AI data centres.
To fund the expansion, Oracle has already taken on $58 billion in new debt within just two months. This includes $38 billion for data centres in Texas and Wisconsin and another $20 billion for a campus in New Mexico.
As a result, Oracle’s total debt has now crossed $100 billion.
Wall Street analysts expect the company’s free cash flow to turn negative in the coming years, with returns from the AI investments likely to materialise only around 2030.
Last month, Oracle also said it plans to raise up to $50 billion through debt and equity this year.
Investors have already started reacting to the spending surge.
After rallying 61% in 2024 and another 20% last year, Oracle’s shares have fallen about 54% from their September 2025 peak, wiping out roughly $463 billion in market value.
The stock slipped further after Bloomberg reported the potential layoffs.
Oracle is not the only technology company facing pressure from rising AI investments.
Amazon cut about 16,000 jobs earlier this year, months after laying off 14,000 employees last October. Microsoft reduced around 15,000 roles last year amid its own data centre spending push.
Salesforce has also cut thousands of jobs over the past year, while Block, co-founded by Jack Dorsey, recently slashed about 3,500 positions, or roughly half of its workforce, citing AI-led efficiency gains.
Analysts believe Oracle’s proposed layoffs could save between $8 billion and $10 billion in cash flow.
The company is also reportedly asking some new customers to pay up to 40% of contract value upfront and is exploring a possible sale of Cerner, the healthcare software company it acquired for $28.3 billion in 2022.
Oracle is scheduled to announce its fiscal third-quarter results on March 10.
