Наталя Хандусенко Work 23 June 2026, 09:42

Oracle cut 21,000 jobs, spending $1.84 billion on severance costs

In 2026, Oracle's total workforce decreased by 13%, or about 21,000 employees, due to a change in business structure and a massive transition to artificial intelligence.

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Oracle cut 21,000 jobs, spending $1.84 billion on severance costs

In 2026, Oracle's total workforce decreased by 13%, or about 21,000 employees, due to a change in business structure and a massive transition to artificial intelligence.

According to the company's annual report, as of May 31, 2026, the total workforce was 141,000 employees compared to approximately 162,000 in the same period last year, Reuters reported .

Oracle spent $1.84 billion on severance pay and other costs related to layoffs as part of its restructuring this year, up significantly from $374 million the previous year.

The document also states that the personnel changes occurred under the influence of various factors, including changes in management and product line, efficiency issues, changing strategic priorities, and acquisitions of other companies.

There have been numerous reports of layoffs at the company since the beginning of the year. In May, TIME learned that Oracle had allegedly laid off nearly 30,000 employees for the sake of AI . The company's annual financial report revealed the exact number of layoffs.

Concerns about job losses due to the development of artificial intelligence are rapidly growing in society. According to Layoffs.fyi, a website that tracks layoffs in the IT sector, 196 technology companies have already laid off more than 119,800 employees since the beginning of this year.

Oracle, long a smaller player in the cloud computing market, has in recent months made major data center deals with OpenAI and Meta, which will allow it to compete more fiercely with rivals such as Amazon and Microsoft.

But unlike those tech giants, which fund their massive spending with large cash flows, Oracle has had to resort to tapping its own cash reserves and issuing debt. The company's shares have fallen about 10% this year.

Oracle said earlier this month that it expects net capital expenditures of about $70 billion in the current fiscal year. To fund that, the company will raise another $40 billion through debt and equity issuance, including a previously announced $20 billion equity offering.

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