Before the layoffs, management required specialists to document their work processes in detail to train internal artificial intelligence systems that later began to perform their work.
Before the layoffs, management required specialists to document their work processes in detail to train internal artificial intelligence systems that later began to perform their work.
Oracle has laid off up to 30,000 employees over the past month, representing nearly 18% of its global workforce. The mass layoffs, loss of bonuses, and a change in the corporation's strategy became known in a TIME article .
The layoffs affected professionals at all levels, many of whom had been with the company for decades. The layoffs were made with a single email or phone call. In addition to losing their jobs, employees lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in unrealized stock units (RSUs) that were paid in lieu of bonuses. Foreign specialists on H-1B visas, who have only 60 days to find a new employer or leave the country, were also hit.
“You really feel used. They make you do something, it’s fixed, and then they replace you with something you just created,” said a former Oracle technical writer who lost $300,000 in stock due to her firing.
Former employees say that the introduction of internal AI tools did not make their lives easier, but only increased the workload and led to the generation of poor-quality code or text that had to be corrected manually. At the same time, productivity standards were constantly increasing.
“We were training AI to replace us, but at the same time, this AI was the only way to cope with our workload. You don’t meet deadlines, and you’re just forced to do it,” explained one of the laid-off employees.
In response, more than 600 employees signed a collective letter to management demanding increased severance pay. Oracle offered a base compensation of four weeks' salary plus one week for each year of service, which is significantly lower than the standards of other technology giants. The company refused to engage in collective bargaining, stating that it would only consider the appeal on an individual basis.
Oracle has made a major push into AI infrastructure in recent years, investing billions of dollars in data center construction. The company previously signed a major cloud-based deal with OpenAI.
