Oracle has started a fresh round of layoffs as the software giant looks to control costs and commit enormous sums to its artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout.
The latest cuts began on Monday, Sept. 14, with affected US employees receiving early-morning emails informing them that their positions had been eliminated and that Monday would be their final working day. The total number of employees affected has not yet been disclosed, although earlier reports indicated that some teams could face reductions reaching double-digit percentages.
US workers affected by the latest layoffs were reportedly offered four weeks of base pay plus an additional week for each year of service. Business Insider previously reported that severance could be capped at 26 weeks.
Oracle's layoffs started well before September
The latest cuts are part of a restructuring effort. Oracle initiated its fiscal 2026 restructuring plan during the fiscal year that began in June of 2025. By May 31, 2026, its workforce fell from approximately 162,000 to 141,000 employees. This is a reduction of around 21,000 workers, or 13%, in just one year.
Reports of particularly large-scale reductions emerged in March, when Bloomberg said Oracle was preparing to eliminate thousands of positions as it dealt with the financial demands of its AI data center expansion.
The restructuring is also getting more expensive. Oracle recently increased the expected cost of its 2026 restructuring plan by another $700 million to roughly $2.8 billion, with much of the spending related to severance and other workforce-reduction expenses. Oracle is simultaneously spending heavily to expand its cloud and AI infrastructure.
Oracle stock price (Source: CoinCodex)
That tension appears to be weighing on investors. Oracle stock dropped 3.64% on Monday to close at $144.79, down from $150.26 in the previous session. Shares then slipped another 0.29% to around $144.37 in after-hours trading, which put ORCL roughly 3.9% below its previous close.
The decline came amid the layoff news, a selloff in AI-linked stocks and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison's unexpected decision to cancel a previously announced plan to sell Oracle shares.
